I Know It's Crazy
by voidxgear
Summary: Aomine Daiki has been having some frightening dreams lately about some blondie he's never seen before. All the dreams involve this person in life-threatening danger. It gets even weirder when he discovers the person in his dreams is real: a rising singer named Kise Ryouta. If his dreams about Kise are real, is it his responsibility to do anything about it and try to save him?
1. From My Dreams

_A hooded figure quickly approached a blond male, shoving him against the wall. The blond yelped but reacted as quick as he could, trying to push his attacker away._

 _"What do you think you're doing?!" The blond had a fire in him, that was for sure. His eyes gave more anger than fear, and he was doing his best to push back, but his attacker was stronger, successfully pinning him against the brick building._

 _No one else seemed to be around. The moonlight illuminated their struggle, then reflected off a large blade the attacker pulled out from his jacket. The blond gasped and froze._

 _"Wait, stop. Please, I'll give you whatever you want. I'll give you my wallet."_

 _"I don't want your money."_

 _"I don't know what you're after just please…!"_

 _The attacker put the blade to the blond's throat. "I'm after something a little more complicated than money."_

 _The blond began to shake, a look of horror formed on his face._

Aomine woke up sweating. His orange tabby cat leaped off the bed, startled as he sat up in bed quickly, wiping the sweat off his brow.

"Shit. Again?"

This goddamn blondie had been appearing in dream after dream lately. His face was vivid. Amber eyes with eyelashes longer than he'd probably seen on any other guy, short blond hair that was silky and shiny….that guy probably worked on his hair about as much as Momoi worked on hers. He was tall and slender. His smile was big and bright, even though Aomine hadn't seen it much in his dreams because every time he dreamt about him, he was either getting hurt or about to get hurt, each scenario similar to the dream he'd just had. This dream was the…third one? Fourth one? He didn't know, but he really needed to stop dreaming about him because…

This guy wasn't real. Aomine had never met him before in his life and it made no goddamn sense. This wasn't the type of person he was interested in nor was this particular guy anything like himself. This guy looked like he could be a model or something, and Aomine was a college basketball player. Outside of both being Japanese, they were worlds apart from each other, so why the hell would Aomine dream over and over about someone like that?

The only light pouring into his room was the moonlight, big and bright outside his bedroom window where the curtain was only half drawn. What fucking time was it? Rubbing his eyes, he glanced at his alarm clock. Four AM. Four AM? Really? Well at least he could squeeze in a few more hours before he had to be awake.

He flopped back down in bed, pulling his blanket over his head and groaning. His cat mewled from his bedside, a usual call for attention.

"Yeah, yeah, get back up here," he groaned. The slender cat leapt back up to the bed, slid underneath the blankets and nuzzled up to his chest, laying there. Aomine sighed deeply as he stroked the back of the cat's neck, wondering if he could even fall asleep at all after this. Usually when he had a dream this vivid, particularly with Blondie, he didn't fall asleep again.

"Do you have dreams, Ren?"

The orange cat responded by purring as Aomine stroked him for another moment.

"You have the good life. You can sleep all you want." Pouting, Aomine closed his eyes, hoping he could get back to sleep.

He didn't. The most he was able to do in those few extra hours was shut his eyes and pretend he was asleep, not that he was surprised. He was very much inclined to stay in bed and see if he could nap the day away, but that wouldn't work anyway because Momoi would probably be banging on his door if he was so much as running late to his first class. They didn't have the same classes, but they met up every morning, and there was no way she was ever going to let him get away with skipping, particularly when he had to maintain his grades to stay in the Tokyo University basketball club. Some things never change.

He showered and dressed before chugging an energy drink. Why he even tried drinking those damn things, he had no idea. They never did much for him, for whatever reason, and he still felt like death. With the energy drink, he was just slightly more lethargic death. Too bad he pretty much hated coffee unless it was more cream and sugar than coffee.

He must have been running a little later than he thought he was because he heard a familiar, demanding knock on his door. Grabbing his bag with a groan, he walked to the door and opened it.

Momoi stood there with her hands on her hips, but as soon as she saw him she gave him a puzzled, concerned look. "Did you have another nightmare?"

He yawned, joining her outside and shutting the door behind him. "Yeah. Am I late?"

"Not yet, but you better hurry up."

He started walking and she quickly joined him, looking up at him curiously. "When are you going to tell me what these dreams are about?"

He sighed. "They're just dreams, Satsuki."

"But you're having too many. Are they different dreams? Recurring dreams? Come on, tell me!"

Frowning, he rubbed his ear as they headed down a flight of stairs on the apartment complex not far from campus. "Stop being so noisy this early, jeez."

At the bottom of the staircase was a smaller figure that almost slipped by Aomine's gaze, but he saw him out of the corner of his eye. Tetsu. He was passing by and stopped when he saw them. Just as Aomine expected, the moment he opened his mouth to greet him, Momoi practically flew down the remaining few stairs, collapsing right into him for a tight hug.

"Tetsu-kun!"

Kuroko, in all his 168cm glory because some people stop growing freshmen year of high school, somehow managed to stay on his feet this time, but his face was almost as blue as the hair on his head as Momoi squeezed him tightly.

"G-Good morning."

Aomine rolled his eyes, meeting them at the bottom of the stairs. "Jeez, let him breathe, will you?"

Momoi let him go, beaming as ever. "What a strange sight to see you this early! Especially without Kagamin."

"I have an early committee morning. It's nice to see you. Hello, Aomine-kun."

Aomine rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey."

Momoi began to walk again, Aomine and Kuroko following closely. Aomine noticed Kuroko looking at him curiously, but Kuroko never said anything. Probably figured there was no point, Aomine guessed. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that he hadn't slept well.

"Dai-chan had another nightmare, Tetsu-kun! And he still won't tell me what they're about."

Aomine immediately scowled. "You told Tetsu about my nightmares?"

"Well I would have told him about your nightmares if I knew what they were about!"

"What the hell?! I told you, they're just dreams! It's not important!"

Kuroko's quieter voice interrupted them. "Some people believe dreams reflect our subconscious, Aomine-kun."

"That's ridiculous," he sneered. "What about when you watch a monster movie, and then you have a dream about that monster? See? Total bullcrap."

"Did a monster movie give you nightmares, Dai-chan?"

"No! It was just an example. Shit, you're giving me a headache."

Aomine caught a glance of Kuroko's face, and he could swear that he saw him smirking.

"You can admit if a monster movie scared you, Aomine-kun."

"Screw both of you!"

A dream about a monster would have made a lot more sense. He'd be able to easily track the source of that kind of dream. The problem was that his dreams didn't make any sense. The face he dreamed about was surprisingly vivid for a face he'd never seen before and made up in his mind. It seemed so strange to create such a detailed picture of someone who didn't exist. It wasn't like he was an artist or anything like that. One of the most unsettling parts about these dreams with Blondie was that Aomine himself wasn't even in them. The dreams were never about him nor did he ever appear in them. He was always merely watching Blondie find himself in harm's way every time.

The dreams were always similar to the one he'd had last night. Blondie, in a dark alley late at night, with some guy in a hood coming at him with a knife. The knife was pointed to his throat in most of the dreams, but there was a dream where it was pointed to his chest instead and in that dream the knife had been a dagger instead. That had been the first dream, but in every dream since, it was a knife to the throat, just like the last dream. He wasn't sure what the differences meant, if anything, but it still meant the same kind of danger for Blondie. He dreamed this scenario four times now, with the same absolutely vivid face that his mind had created, that had nothing to do with him whatsoever.

How could he explain any of that, even to Satsuki or Tetsu?

Momoi giggled a bit but apparently decided to drop the topic as they continued walking to campus together. "Dai-chaaaan, can you do something for me?"

"I'm not telling you about the dreams."

"There's this singer, he's kind of new, and he's performing here in a few days! Will you go with me? Please?"

He bit his lip in thought. "Well, what day is it?"

"Thursday night. You don't have any games or practice so will you please go with me? Please, Dai-chan? Tetsu-kun, you should come too! Bring Kagamin!"

Kuroko looked a bit unsure. "Who is the singer?"

"His name is Kise. Kise Ryouta! I found his songs online and he's been signed recently. He's very good and I wanna go see him!"

"I'll ask Kagami-kun."

Aomine blinked. Kise Ryouta? The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember meeting anyone by that name before. Surely he'd remember a name like that, wouldn't he? Especially if it was a singer, and he couldn't remember ever meeting a singer before. He was always pretty much knee-deep in basketball anyway, so someone like that would have definitely stood out. Maybe he'd met someone with a similar name before. Whatever.

"Dai-chan?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll go. Whatever."

"Yay!" Momoi smiled and turned around, walking a step ahead of them. They were almost to campus now, for which Aomine was almost thankful for, because this felt like it was going to be a really long day.

"Aomine-kun?" Kuroko called quietly, looking up at his taller friend.

Aomine was halfway zoned out, recalling his dream again. "What?"

"If you decide you wanna talk about the dreams…."

"Yeah. Thanks."

Aomine didn't know how Momoi did it, but somehow she was able to talk Kagami and Kuroko into going to this concert. Apparently this guy was some new pop artist with a target audience of girls, but Momoi swore he was really good and that they would enjoy his songs. Aomine would have much rather spent the time reading his magazines, sleeping, or….fuck, doing anything else. But the moment that Momoi asked him, he knew he'd be going no matter what. It was just as well, because at least this way he could make sure that any creeps kept their distance from her, which they usually did when he was around. Hopefully this Kise guy didn't suck too much. In any case, he was prepared to lose his hearing temporarily if what Momoi said about his target audience was true.

The day came. Kise was set to perform in the courtyard on campus. It was a fairly modest set up and from the looks of it, this guy wasn't too big yet. This would have been just fine with Aomine, but after he and Momoi arrived, the crowds kept growing.

And growing.

And growing.

"Where the hell did you say you found this guy again?" Aomine demanded, looking around for Kuroko and Kagami in the standing crowd. If he had to suffer through this, so did they!

"Online! I didn't know he was this popular already….wow…."

"I don't think his people knew he was this big already, either," Aomine muttered, his voice too low for Momoi to hear over the crowds. Kise wasn't even on stage yet and the girls were screaming for him. He couldn't imagine what was going to happen when the guy finally showed up and he definitely would not have agreed to this if he knew this was going to be the outcome.

A familiar head of red hair weaved his way through the crowd, towards him and Momoi. Within seconds, Kagami emerged from the crowd of fangirls, holding Kuroko's hand, tugging the smaller boy behind him. Kagami looked about as annoyed as Aomine felt.

"Who the hell is this guy again? I thought you said he was a new artist," Kagami said to Momoi.

"He is! I didn't know this many people would show up," Momoi said.

Kagami just sighed. He was still holding Kuroko's hand as he looked over at him. Out of the four of them, Kuroko looked the least bothered. He looked back at Kagami and Aomine had to resist the urge to roll his eyes to oblivion because they were doing that thing again where they look at each other and have an entire conversation just by their glances. Jeez, get a room.

He didn't have much time to dwell on the thought because music started and the large crowd surrounding them, mostly girls, started screaming. It was a light, catchy beat that actually wasn't too terrible, but he didn't have to admit that to anyone, and he still hadn't heard this guy's voice yet.

The four of them were pretty far back in the crowd, but near the front, a young blond male wearing a headset was running towards the stage from the side. Blonde….? The screams around them got louder and Aomine had to resist the urge to plug his ears, but he supposed he'd have to get used to this as the concert was only just starting.

Kise ran up the short stairs to the modest stage set and jumped enthusiastically as he got to the center, spreading his arms wide. "Hi everybody! Wow, there's so many of you!" the singer said with a giggle as the music continued playing from the band behind him.

Aomine froze. They were several rows back in the crowd, but he knew that face, that blond hair, and that figure anywhere.

It was the face from his dreams.

"You've all been so patient," Kise said, smiling brightly as he walked across the small stage. "I think I have a little something for you. Maybe I should sing a few songs? Hmm, I dunno, what do you guys think?"

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Kise giggled again, blowing a kiss to the crowd. "You are all so special to me, thank you for coming."

The music picked up in pace as Kise began to sing, dancing across the stage, radiating with energy. Momoi clapped her hands, watching eagerly. She looked over at her male friends, gauging their reactions.

Kagami looked bored out of his mind already while Kuroko was watching curiously. These were probably the expected reactions, but between Kuroko and Momoi stood Aomine, who still stood stunned, staring at the stage.

"Dai-chan?" Momoi called over the crowd. "Are you okay?"

He shook his head quickly, trying to refocus. "Yeah. Fine."

Momoi looked back at the stage, cheering and singing along with Kise a bit. Even if Aomine wanted to explain this to her now, he wouldn't have been able to in the middle of a screaming crowd. But why would she, or anyone else, believe him anyway? He'd dreamed of a face he didn't even know existed, and now he was standing in the crowd, watching him perform. Who in their right mind would believe something like that?

He wasn't even sure he believed it himself. Maybe he'd seen this guy in passing before, or seen him in a magazine. As much as he wanted to believe that, there was no single instance he could recall. He simply had never seen Kise's face before, but he'd dreamed of it, and he was real. Blondie was real.

Truthfully, even if he had briefly seen Kise's face in the past, it still didn't explain why he kept dreaming about him.

Kuroko and Kagami glanced over at him, giving him the exact same confused look. He glared at them. "What?!"

Kuroko simply looked back to the stage again, but Kagami glared right back at him.

"What's your problem? Save the attitude," the redhead said just loud enough for him to hear. Of course, after he said this, Kuroko glanced back at Aomine again, looking concerned.

"I don't have a problem," Aomine said defensively.

"Good."

Aomine looked back at the stage again, trying to keep from losing his cool, but it was a struggle when he was looking at the face he thought he'd made up in his dreams. Of all the times in the past where it felt like he was losing his mind, this truly took the fucking cake.


	2. Until I Find You

This was only meant to be a small, outdoor concert for some college kids but it was so much bigger than intended with the impressive number of people that showed up. It was clear that Kise's next gig wasn't going to be in the courtyard of a college campus. This wasn't a stepping stone for Kise, it was a launch pad.

If it weren't for the fact that Aomine was still trying to get over seeing the face from his dreams several meters away on stage, he might have actually enjoyed his songs a little bit. Not that he'd let Momoi know, but Kise was pretty talented. Kise had a little more than just a pretty good singing voice that drew this crowd though: his looks and boyish features didn't hurt him either. Seeing him in his dream, Aomine had thought it was a face he could picture in a magazine. Model material. He hadn't been that far off in that thought.

Momoi enjoyed the concert and she wasn't as bad as some of the other girls surrounding them who were screaming and flailing hoping to get the blond's attention even several rows back from the stage. Kuroko just watched quietly while Kagami continued looking bored out of his skull throughout the entire thing. A couple years back, Aomine remembered Kuroko mentioning that Kagami had attended rock concerts during his time in America, so it wasn't a surprise to Aomine that this just…wasn't his thing.

Aomine's mind kept wandering. There was just no denying that Kise was the face from his dream. He didn't understand it. What did it mean? He didn't want it to mean anything at all because…what could it mean? It just didn't make sense. But at the same time, why in the world would he dream over and over about the same face before he even met him?

He couldn't help but entertain the thought for a moment….what if his dreams were real? Just for the sake of argument, what would it mean? By the stage, Kise's security staff was being assisted by the school's security staff due to how unexpectedly huge the crowd was, so it didn't make any sense for his dream to be something that already happened. Kise would have more security then. That left one thing: that the attack he kept dreaming would happen in the future.

…No. Okay, no. There was absolutely no way his or anyone's dreams predicted the future. He'd had some really crazy dreams in his life, but that was a whole new level of screwed up. He refused to believe it.

But the fact that he dreamed Kise's face so vividly before ever seeing it just seemed too weird to ignore. Like it had to have meaning.

This felt like one big paradox. What a headache. He wanted to ignore it, but Kise's face and voice wouldn't let him.

Would he be losing his mind if he admitted the dreams really meant something?

He was torn, because it just felt like that was the case, but at the same time, if he was dreaming about the future, then that was way too fucking terrifying and he wanted no part of it.

Was he seriously thinking about this? Why couldn't he just pretend the dreams didn't happen and call it a day? Chalk it up to some weird mind trick and leave it at that?

Yeah. Weird mind tricks.

The concert ended after an encore, during which Kise blew more kisses to the crowd and bowed, thanking them again for coming. He seemed to have a certain childishness about him and Aomine wasn't sure if that was part of his on stage persona or just who he was in general. Well, it didn't matter anyway because he was soon gonna leave and the only time Aomine would see him again was in magazines or whatever. Most certainly not in his dreams, because his dreams weren't real. They were not about Kise.

The crowd began to disperse and Momoi glanced at her male friends with a smile. "Why don't we get some burgers before we all go home?"

Kagami perked up. "Burgers? Yeah, sounds good. Kuroko?"

Kuroko looked up at him with a nod. "Yes, please. It's been days since I last had a shake."

Momoi beamed and turned to lead the way to a burger joint close to the school without even asking Aomine. She didn't need to though because everyone already knew the answer. Truthfully, he could use a big tray piled over with burgers right about now. Eating until he got tired enough to pass out sounded even better. Maybe he wouldn't dream that way.

As they crossed the courtyard, a guy just a little shorter and more slender than Aomine came running from the opposite direction and collided right into him. Aomine recoiled but recovered quickly.

"Oi, watch where you're running!" he shouted.

The guy didn't say anything or even look at him as he quickly recovered from the collision and sped off again.

Aomine glared at him as he ran off. Some people could be so rude.

"Someone's in a hurry," Momoi said as she looked back.  
Aomine huffed and shoved his hands in his pockets. "That's his problem. Let's just get those burgers."

They returned on their path, following Momoi. Aomine caught Kuroko looking back for a moment before Kagami grabbed the shorter male's hand.

"Kuroko?"

"Yes, sorry. Let's go."

As the four of them walked off together, the slender male that ran into Aomine continued running in the opposite direction at top speed, clutching magazines to his chest. In his path was Kise, surrounded by his staff and security, with a towel draped over his shoulders as he spoke with his manager.

"Kise-kun! Kise-kun! Kise-kun!"

The blond turned around when he heard his name but his security was one step ahead of him. Two strong guys in black stepped forward to shield him, a few more guys ready behind them.

"You need to stay back."

The fan stopped but he was practically bouncing with excitement, eager to get Kise's attention.

"You saw me in the crowd! I really love you, Kise-kun!"

Kise's manager, a young woman who was about half of the tall male's size, tugged on his arm and gestured to their nearby bus, but he waved a hand at her dismissively. She glared at him as he broke out of her grasp and approached the fan, the security guys glancing with uncertainty back at the manager. She gave them a knowing look and their eyes were locked on Kise again.

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed the show!" Kise said to the fan with a bright smile.

The fan shoved a magazine towards him. It was flipped open to an article about Kise about halfway in. It was a small article with a small picture of him on top. "Please sign this!"

Kise smiled, taking a pen from him. "What's your name, hm?"

"Michio! Please write it for Michio. I couldn't believe when you spotted me, Kise-kun! I've been following your singles online and I can't wait for your album! I know everything about you, Kise-kun. You're important to me, too!"  
Kise signed the magazine, smiling bright as ever as he handed the items back to his eager fan. "Thank you for your support, Michio-san."

His manager came up behind him, weaving her way through the security guys to grab on his arm and tug on him urgently from behind. He flailed a bit but followed her as the security guys put themselves between Kise and the fan again.

"He's on a tight schedule," one of them said. "Please leave, this is a restricted area."

The fan, looking dejected, attempted to move forward to reach Kise again, but was quickly grabbed by security. "Kise-kun! Just a few more minutes, please? I've been dying to speak with you Kise-kun!"

Kise's manager, despite being much shorter than him, shoved him onto their nearby bus and followed in behind him before he had a chance to respond. Seeing this, the fan frowned even more.

The security staff kept their hold on him. "We'll have to escort you off the premises if you refuse to leave."

The fan jerked away from their grasp, glaring at them as he clutched his magazines to his chest. "There's no need. I'm leaving." He quickly turned away, storming off in the direction that he came.

 _The hooded figure shoved the blond into the familiar brick wall. The blond struggled to fight him off, but his attacker was surprisingly strong._

 _"What do you think you're doing?!"_

 _The attacker responded by pulling out a knife, which reflected in the moonlight above them in the secluded alley and the blond immediately stopped fighting, putting his hands up with a gasp._

 _"Wait, stop. Please, I'll give you whatever you want. I'll give you my wallet."_

 _"I don't want your money."_

 _"I don't know what you're after just please…!"_

 _The attacker put the blade to the blond's throat. "I'm after something a little more complicated than money."_

 _The blond began to shake, a look of horror formed on his face. "W-what do you want?"_

 _"I-I've been telling you! Over and over, I've been telling you and you haven't listened to me. How do you expect this to work if you don't listen to me?!" The attacker was flustered, a mix of emotions overshadowed by anger. He was shaking. He pressed the blade against the skin of the blond's throat, not quite enough to break skin, but enough to make the blond quiver with fear._

 _"Please, put the knife away, let's just talk about this. Don't do something you'll regret."_

 _"See, you're only saying that now. I really want to believe you, but you ruined it. You don't even understand what you've done!"_

 _Tears began to form in the blond's eyes. "It doesn't have to be like this, please don't do this, please put the knife away."_

 _"Shut up! You've said enough already. What happens now is up to me."_

 _The blade pressed further against the blond's throat, this time breaking skin._

Aomine awoke to his alarm clock, blaring at him loudly. Immediately, he reached over, slamming a fist down on the offending object, not caring at that moment if he broke it. At that moment, he couldn't decide if the alarm was his worst enemy for waking him up or his best friend for cutting him off from another goddamn dream about Blondie.

He was laying on his stomach, the morning sun peaking in through his curtains, and he felt like death. Again. At least he actually slept through the night this time, but that didn't mean he slept well. Couldn't he wake up just once without feeling like death?

He felt the familiar sensation of paws climbing on his back, walking over his muscular form as he lay there. Groaning, he threaded a hand through his messy dark blue hair.

"I'm up, I'm up. You're worse than Satsuki sometimes."

Ren mewled at him softly, climbing off of him again to allow him to move. Aomine rolled over, lying on his back.

"Scratch that, I'm not up."

The cat mewled louder.

This dream had been longer than his previous dreams. In the past, they had all stopped at pretty much the same point, but for some reason his brain decided to give him a little more this time.

"So he knows him…," he muttered to himself, staring at the ceiling. Ren, pacing over the bed next to him, tilted his head at him. His gaze was met with Aomine's as he started talking to the cat.

"He knows him. So what, is the guy a stalker or something?"

Ren decided to lay down on the bed, keeping his gaze on Aomine.

"He's a fucking psycho. He could have killed him at any second. I don't think he's going to though. He would have done it already…wouldn't he?" Aomine sat up, holding his chin in thought for a moment, trying to recall the dream's events. "But…if Blondie says the wrong thing, this asshole might lose his cool and kill him anyway."

Ren mewed loudly, as if in protest.

"Oi! I'm not telling anyone."

The cat whined again, deciding to get back up and jump off the bed.

Aomine pouted. "Well fine. I see how it is."

Well, that was enough thinking about that. He dragged himself out of bed and headed to the shower.

Now that he'd seen Kise's face in person at the concert the other night, he couldn't look at his dream the same way. Throughout the day as he zoned out in his classes, he couldn't unassociated the dreams with Kise. This random singer, who had come out of nowhere and taken the campus by storm, was in his dreams.

But what if his mind was just playing a trick on him? What if it wasn't Kise but because the face looked similar his brain decided to trick him?

No. There was no way. The moment he'd seen Kise's face during the concert he knew. The face in his dream had been so clear, so detailed, and there was no way it could be long to anyone other than Kise Ryouta.

Now that he had a name to put to the face, the dream was extended. Was that a sign? The dreams had always ended the same way before, right after the knife was pulled out, but now he had more than that. The dream had changed right after he'd seen Kise's face for the first time, after repeatedly being the same beforehand.

So who was this Kise guy? He was a singer, but what else?

Later that day he decided to visit the school's library, finding a computer in a secluded corner to use as he looked up information about him. As he didn't want to print anything off to give himself away, he was writing down every bit of information he could find, tapping away at the keyboard, chewing on the barrel of his pen in thought.

Kise Ryouta  
Birthday: June 18th (Gemini)  
Age: 19  
Height: 189cm  
Weight: 77kg  
Blood type: A  
Likes: Karaoke, onion gratin soup, honesty  
Dislikes: Earthworms, unagi  
Ideal girl: One that won't tie him down

Not only was he the same age as Aomine, but they were almost the same height as well. That seemed to be pretty much all they had in common though, as Kise was a slender guy and seemed to have a reputation for being a "happy-go-lucky pretty boy" according to all these teen sites. He was getting very popular with young girls and most of the sites that Aomine found information for about him were on sites decorated with way more pink than he deemed necessary.

He frowned at the screen, still chewing on his pen. Even though he had no idea what kind of information he was looking for, it seemed silly that he was writing down meaningless things like his weight and blood type.

"Aomine-kun?"

Aomine jumped, his pen falling out of his mouth. "Dammit, Tetsu!"

"I'm sorry," Kuroko said from just next to him. He blinked at Aomine curiously, glancing at the screen. "…Is that Kise Ryouta?"

Aomine's brows furrowed as he closed his browser window. "I clicked on it by accident. I gotta go." He quickly grabbed his pen and notebook, shoving them haphazardly into his bag.

"Aomine-kun, is something wrong?"

"No, Tetsu, everything's peachy. Just peachy." He stood up, throwing his bag over his shoulder.

"You've been acting strange since yesterday. I think this is the first time I've ever seen you in the library. Is there something bothering you?"

He had actually gotten lost trying to find the library, but that wasn't something he wanted to admit since he'd been going to this school for months now. "You wouldn't even believe me, Tetsu."

Kuroko looked up at him with an even, sincere gaze. "I don't think you mean that, Aomine-kun."

Aomine paused, biting his lip. He most likely shouldn't tell anyone at all, but he almost wanted someone to tell him he wasn't crazy. Even if Kuroko were just going to explain how it was some weird mind trick, maybe he could give him an explanation that reassured him he wasn't losing his mind. There had been a time where he still would have brushed Kuroko off for this and pushed him away, but that was a long time ago. Their friendship had evolved since then. He trusted Tetsu.

"Well, I can't tell you in the middle of the damn library."

"Come with me."

Aomine walked with Kuroko, who led them outside. If anyone knew a quiet area in this big school, it was Kuroko, and sure enough the shorter male led them to a secluded area behind the library where no one else seemed to be around. Aomine could easily picture Kuroko coming over here to read or whenever the hustle and bustle of the main areas on campus got exhausting.

Or whenever he wanted to help a friend, maybe.

"What's on your mind?" Kuroko asked, looking up at Aomine with those big curious eyes of his that always made Aomine feel guilty for even thinking about lying.

Aomine crossed his arms, already regretting this and he hadn't even started telling him yet. "It's about those dreams I've been having. I keep having the same dream over and over about a guy being threatened. It doesn't make any sense."

"Recurring dreams can having many different meanings."

"I get that, but it gets crazy. I thought the guy in my dream was just some random guy my mind made up…but it's not."

Kuroko blinked at him. "You're dreaming about Kise-san?"

Aomine rubbed his face as though he were dreaming right now, hoping to wake up. He was actually explaining this, and Kuroko was actually listening to it. God damn it all. "Yeah, but Tetsu…here's the crazy part: I never saw this guy's face in my life before the concert last night."

Kuroko's eyes widened a little bit and he tilted his head, looking at Aomine closely.

"Don't look at me like that!" Aomine said defensively. "I can't decide what I dream, let alone something like this. Of all things to happen…why can't I dream about a sexy girl? It's been months since I had a dream about boobs. No, I get to dream about some pretty boy about to get stabbed. Stupid brain, I want my boobs back."

Kuroko deadpanned. "I was going to ask you if you were sure about never seeing his face before, but I think it's obvious enough."

"Oi! What's that supposed to mean?"

Before Kuroko could answer, his phone rang in his pocket. "Excuse me," he said to Aomine before pulling it out and answering it. "Hello, Kagami-kun….Yes, that would be very nice….I'll meet you then. No, don't worry...thank you. See you then."

Kuroko hung up, a small smile showing on his face as he put his phone back in his pocket. Aomine knew that look. That was the look of Kagami having just asked him out to a date, in his own awkward, stuttering way. Kagami and Kuroko had been friends for a long time, but they'd only recently decided to take their friendship to the romantic level as well, so they were still trying to find their niche. Kuroko seemed content as ever and he smiled more than he used to, and the same was mostly true for Kagami, but that dumb redhead got flustered every time he tried to be romantic with Kuroko.

"I'm sorry," Kuroko said, returning his attention back to Aomine. "I need to go, but I want to help you with your dreams."

"Help me? What do you mean?"

"Just give me some time. Tell me if you have more dreams, okay?"

Aomine pouted. "Well, you can't tell anyone."

"Don't worry."

"Not even Kagami."

"Aomine-kun, please trust me."

"Yeah, yeah, fine. Go get ready for your date."

Kuroko blinked at him. "You heard all of that?"

"Come on, Tetsu, what do I look like? An idiot?"

Kuroko responded with a smirk before turning to leave. "Talk to you soon, Aomine-kun."

Aomine waved at him lazily, watching him rush off towards the apartment he shared with Kagami. He sighed when he was alone, unable to believe he'd actually just had this conversation with him about his dreams.

Well, Kuroko promising to help was real cute and all, but he knew that any kind of help Kuroko would bring or encourage was different than what he had in mind, so he still had to keep a few secrets to himself.

Like, say, trying to meet Kise Ryouta.


	3. Message Received

_Message received._  
 _From: Unknown Number_  
 _Message: Kise Ryouta? Please text me back._

It wasn't exactly the kind of text message that Kise Ryouta wanted to receive while he was wandering alone in the middle of the very busy East Shinjuku. It was probably just a fangirl, but this was his personal phone. He'd expect something like that on his business phone number, since leaks like that could unfortunately happen sometimes, but how would a fangirl have gotten his personal phone number?

It was probably nothing and he was on edge for no reason. Ever since the concert at Tokyo University a few days ago, he was realizing just how recognizable his face was becoming. He adored and appreciated his fans, but all of this was happening so fast it was making his head spin. His manager, Shouji-san, would scold him if she knew he was alone right now because he was getting to the point where people recognized him on the street and it could be dangerous for someone with his demographic, but it was just so…stifling. Being surrounded by staff and security and producers and everyone else for so lengthy periods of time could be suffocating, even if he enjoyed performing shows.

The turnout at Tokyo University had been surprising, so now everyone was scrambling, trying to book him bigger shows. He was grateful, but he needed a few minutes to himself. Should he even answer this text?

 _Sent message: Who is this?_

The reply came quickly: _Oh good! I was afraid you'd ignore me like you did the other day, and that hurt me a lot. I would love to speak with you!_

He blinked at his phone, stopping in his tracks on the sidewalk in front of a restaurant. Ignore…? Kise never ignored his fans. At least, not intentionally, but lately they were growing in numbers so much it was impossible to spend time with them that wasn't off a stage.

 _Sent message: I'm sorry I ignored you. It's hard to keep up with my fans. I'm trying to arrange for some meet & greets for upcoming shows, so keep an eye on my website, okay?_

It was more formal than the cheerful, emoji-filled texts he usually sent, but this wasn't family or a friend, and something about this bothered him.

 _Received: I don't know if I can do that. Can we meet some other way? It would really mean a lot to me. I like you a lot._

He sighed, frowned, and looked up at the sky. "Ohh, don't be like that." Whining loudly, he looked back down at his phone, texting again.

 _Sent: I appreciate your support, but that's not possible. I'm very busy. I'm sorry._

That was right about the point where things started to go downhill. He received another reply quickly, one that made knots in his stomach:

 _Received: You're ignoring me again. We could be great together. You don't know it but I'm perfect for you._

A minute later, another message came in:

 _Received: If you just took a few minutes of your time to meet up with me, you would understand._

What was that supposed to mean? Because if this meant what he thought it did, then absolutely not.

 _Sent: I can't meet up with you. This is my personal phone number, please don't text me anymore._

Honestly though, what the hell was wrong with this person? He knew a lot of his fans were a tad "enthusiastic", putting it lightly, about him and his charm, but this was ridiculous, who did this person think they were?

This fangirl, or whoever this was, quickly replied with another message:

 _Received: Oh, I wish you hadn't said that, Kise-kun. I really wish you hadn't said that._

….What the hell did that mean? Well, forget it, he wasn't going to text this person anymore.

What he would do, though, is go back home for the time being. He didn't feel like being out anymore.

Aomine hated being at odds with himself. It was the most unsettling, helpless feeling. He much preferred to just stick with an objective and go for it full force, but unfortunately that kind of logic, or any kind of logic he used on the basketball court, didn't always apply to real life. Sure, on the court he was sometimes faced with difficult choices too, but that was different. Basketball was his element. He had instincts that were usually spot on, leading him to his almost endless scores and victories.

What he absolutely did not have instincts for were trying to dig up information that didn't belong to him about a celebrity he didn't care about. How did anyone accomplish things like this? He needed someone smart, but he didn't want anyone to know what he was doing either. This was wrong, he knew it was, but the very possibility that Kise might find himself in an alley late at night during a full moon being threatened by some psycho with a knife just like in his dream haunted him.

He couldn't tell if he was more scared of the idea of a dream of him coming true, or the dream's events in themselves. Knowing that there could be a possibility that his stupid, basketball and boob filled brain had that kind of power was frightening. It was absolutely not a power he wanted himself or anyone else to have. Despite the fact that he was at a computer in the library again, trying to dig up private information about a rising singer so he could prevent the events in his dreams from happening, it felt almost like an instinct to believe that this was still just some crazy mind trick. Just a mind trick.

But if there was even the slightest chance that his dreams saw into any kind of future, he had to stamp it out before it happened. Or, at the very least, prove it wasn't real, just to ease his mind and allow him to sleep peacefully again.

He still had no idea how he should go about this. It was a wonder Kuroko didn't think he was crazy, but Kise definitely would, as would any sane person. Warning Kise seemed to be out of the equation, but what else could he do? Keep a constant eye on him? None of this made any goddamn sense.

Despite having next to no idea where to look, he found a gossip site for celebrities in Japan. Well, he'd found lots of them, but one in particular stood out as it seemed to go into a great deal more detail, especially in the forums where other "fans" discussed their favorite celebrities.

Apparently Kise had an older sister that helped get him into the music industry, having been a singer herself, but she performed under a stage name in an effort to separate her career from her personal life. He was also good at a variety of different sports, but had gotten bored and decided to pursue a singing career instead, and apparently this was something he didn't like to talk about in interviews. His left ear was pierced, and the reason he didn't pierce the right one was because it had hurt too much, or at least was the claim made by fans in the forums, because Kise had never admitted this himself.

These were all seemingly meaningless details until Aomine came across a comment from a supposed fan with what was apparently his personal phone number. It was probably fake, but there was a chance it was real too, so Aomine quickly jotted the number down in his notebook, which was now full of mostly useless information about Kise, aside from this one piece that could be the ticket he was looking for.

He decided to pack his stuff up and head back to his apartment when he saw Kuroko heading his way. Thankful he saw him coming this time and he quickly cleared the browser history on the computer and finished gathering his things, standing up to leave, hoping to avoid Kuroko. He knew that Kuroko promised to help him, but what could Kuroko do? This was something he had to handle himself.

Well, it wasn't exactly easy for a tall basketball player to hide, and Kuroko caught up with him, walking with him as he headed out of the library.

"Sorry, Tetsu. I'm busy."

"I've been doing some research, and I would like to know more about your dreams."

"I told you about the dream."

"Details from the dream can be helpful in figuring this out," Kuroko said, still walking with him.

"I'll email you later," Aomine said curtly, heading in the direction of his apartment.

Kuroko frowned. Aomine wasn't sure if he didn't believe him or was just disappointed. "I think you should call me instead. I have questions."

"Fine, I'll call you. I gotta go, okay? If you see Satsuki, tell her I'll catch up with her tomorrow."

Kuroko stopped walking, allowing him to walk away, staring at his back with a frown.

 _New contact "Blondie" added._  
 _Sent message: Hi. I'm a big fan. Can we meet soon?_

 _Received message: I've already told you, I can't meet up with you._

The hell? Okay, so maybe Aomine's attempt at pretending to be a fangirl wasn't the best, but he most certainly had not contacted Kise before this.

 _Sent message: I don't know what you mean. Don't be mad. I just want your autograph._

 _Received message: Then I can't meet you either. Please check my website for upcoming meet & greets._

 _Sent: It's important to me I meet you soon._

 _Received: That's not possible. Please don't text me anymore or I'll have to call the police._

Aomine glared at his phone as he laid on the couch in his apartment, Ren resting on his chest. Okay, this wasn't working, and there was a reason he was bad at this sort of thing, because this was stupid. This whole thing was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

The good news was that this did seem to be Kise's real phone number. The bad news was that some other crazy fan had already gotten a hold of his number and was bugging him.

He may already have a stalker, just like his dream seemed to suggest. Fuck. On top of that, Kise thought Aomine was his stalker.

He called him. Truthfully, he didn't expect Kise to actually pick up, but after two rings, he did, and it was most definitely his voice.

"Who are you? Why do you keep contacting me?"

"Shut up and listen to me for a minute—"

"Excuse me? You listen. I appreciate my fans, but I'm not putting up with this kind of harassment, and I'm going to call the police."

"I don't know who you think I am, but you need to listen to me. You have a stalker, and he—"

"Yeah, and I think I just found him." Click.

Kise had hung up on him and Aomine had the urge to throw his phone across the room. "Dammit!"

He tried calling back again, but was only given an automated message. "This number is not available."

Fuck. Kise had blocked his number. He carelessly tossed his phone onto the coffee table, putting his face in his hands as he groaned loudly. Now he was left with even less options than the next to none he already had. He couldn't get the thought out of his mind that Kise was already being stalked, just like he'd suspected from his dream. The doubts he was having about his dreams were fading fast.

Which meant that if he was going to save Kise's life, he needed to get creative and fast.

But what if he didn't do anything? What if he just chose to believe this was a mind trick, and then something happened to Kise anyway? Was that blood on his hands? It wasn't like anyone would know. Sure, Kuroko knew his dreams, but Kuroko would know it wasn't his fault. It wasn't like Aomine was the one who'd put the knife to his throat.

Well…he may have a problem if Kise really did go to the police with his phone number, but even if he didn't….

Fuck. There had to be something he could do before shit hit the fan. He had no idea how much time he had. The events in his dreams could take place tomorrow, a week from now, or next year. There was no way to know, but if the stalker was already on the move, it was safest to act as quick as he could. Think, Daiki, think. How else could he get to Kise?

Dream or not, Kise or not, he just wanted to sleep again. That was all he wanted. What the hell did a guy have to do to get a decent night's sleep? Shit.

This guy was insane. Using multiple phone numbers to contact Kise? And then having the nerve to call him? Unbelievable! Kise could hardly believe it, but he was angry. Very angry. Within a day, this person had reached out to him twice. One of the phone numbers was probably a fake one using a special app, or they both could have been fake. He couldn't be sure, but he was damn glad he was in his apartment now. Being alone while this happened was slightly unnerving, but he'd blocked both phone numbers that contacted him, so hopefully this asshole would take the hint.

He was in the kitchen, drinking from a glass of water when he heard his phone go off again, which startled him so bad it made him shake. Okay Ryouta, get it together. He took a deep breath, put his water down, and checked his phone.

It was his mom. Oh. Well, that was much better.

"Hi mom! Strange for you to call this time in the evening, how are you?"

"Sweetie, you got a letter today, and it didn't have any postage or return address. I think someone left it in our mailbox, so I went ahead and opened it."

Without realizing what she'd said, Kise whined loudly. "Aw, mom, I asked you not to open my mail!"

"It appears to be a fan letter but….I think you need to go to the police."

His chest tightened up instantly. "What do you mean?"

"It's…it's disgusting, it's like a love letter. The person who wrote it says they're perfect for you and they just want you to take a few minutes out of your day to listen to them so you'll understand and see it too. I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

He placed a trembling hand on his face. That sounded just the conversation he'd had earlier, or at least the first conversation. "Does it have a name on it?"

"Not a full name, but…Michio. Do you know that name?"

Michio.

Kise's eyes widened. Michio….was the name of the fan he met at Tokyo University. He remembered his face and his voice clearly. This fan had come off kind of strong, but some fans do when they're overly excited. Kise understood that, but this….this was….

Oh, god. The person that called him…it wasn't him. The person who called him was someone else.

"It's a fan I met at my last show."

His mom was silent for a moment before she spoke again. "I'm going to call your manag—"

"Wait, mom, I'll call her. Can you send me the letter?"

"Hmm…all right. I'll send you a picture of the letter now and send you the real thing tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah…thanks, mom."

After exchanging I Love Yous and Goodbyes, Kise hung up with a heavy sigh.

"Aw, I can't believe this," he whined.

What was he supposed to make of this? Not only had the Tokyo University show been much bigger than expected, but now because he decided to be nice enough to meet with a fan from that show, he now had a stalker. It was one thing to contact him on his personal phone, but to leave him a letter at his parents' house? If he was going to get a letter, why did it have to involve his family? He'd only lived in his current apartment for a few months now, so Michio probably wasn't aware he didn't live with his parents anymore, but now he was concerned about what else might happen. He'd heard stories of celebrity stalkers getting aggressive and threatening not just the celebrities themselves, but their families too. Was that something that could happen? Was that something Michio intended?

And then there was this other guy who had contacted him. Who was he? Was he a stalker too? Now that he thought about it, he just seemed different than Michio, both in his text messages and when he called him. That guy texted him like he was another fan, but when he called him he was just plain rude. What was the deal with that? What did he want? Was he working with Michio? Trying to throw Kise off Michio's trail? The guy had sounded like he was going to warn him, but how could that be unless he knew Michio?

This was making his head hurt. He decided that what he needed was a nice, hot bath. Eventually he'd call his manager but right now…he just needed to not think about this for awhile.

If he was lucky, which was doubtful.


	4. Is That What You Want?

_Tears were forming in Kise's eyes. "It doesn't have to be like this, please don't do this, please put the knife away."_

 _The attacker's hands shook with anger as he held the knife against Kise's throat. "Shut up! You've said enough already. What happens now is up to me."_

 _The blade pressed further against Kise's neck, this time breaking skin. The blade had just barely cut the surface of his skin when Kise spotted a figure behind his attacker and his eyes widened._

 _Aomine stood there with a dark gaze, his eyes fixed on the hooded figure._

 _"W-what are you doing here?" the blond asked, feeling himself shake._

 _Aomine didn't answer him, but slowly moved closer as the attacker turned around, knife in hand._

Aomine woke up with a gasp. The room felt hot and he was sweating profusely. He sat up, wiping sweat from his brow, still feeling a continued sense of urgency from the dream. It was daylight but his alarm wasn't going off. Fuck, why didn't his alarm go off? He couldn't afford to miss class, he had to keep his grades up so he could—

Wait. It was Sunday. Get it together, Daiki.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. It was normal for him to feel unsettled after a dream's events, or at least that was the case lately, but this time he felt downright shaken and he did not like that one fucking bit. The dream had started just as it always had, with the attacker first shoving Kise against the wall, and then ended when Aomine himself showed up.

It had been a few days since he'd managed to contact Kise, only to be blocked by him, and he hadn't yet found another way to contact him. It was distressing, because now he was at the point where he had little doubt about his dreams. As crazy as it was, what else could he believe when Kise already had a stalker, just as his dream had suggested?

And now Aomine himself was in the dream. His first instinct was that he was there to stop Kise's attacker, because that's certainly how it looked, but why in the world did Kise look so scared when he showed up?

Maybe Kise was afraid of him and assumed he was working with the attacker. That was the only thing that made sense.

It was just as well. It wasn't like he was doing this because he and Kise were friends. Aomine just wanted to be able to sleep again. Even when he didn't dream it had become difficult to sleep because he wondered if he was going to have the dreams again.

He felt a patch of fur against his side and looked down to see Ren nuzzling him. He gently stroked the top of the cat's head and was given a familiar mew in response.

"Ah, you're hungry. Yeah, gimmie a minute."

Yawning sleepily, he dragged himself out of bed and headed into the kitchen. Not even the bright sunlight shining in was enough to make him feel more awake as he opened up one a can of Ren's favorite cat food, dumping it into a small bowl. Ren jumped up onto a chair, and then onto the counter impatiently. Aomine normally tried to keep him off the counter, but he wasn't in the mood right now to care, so he pushed the bowl to him.

"Here you go," he said, leaning against the counter and watching him eat greedily. "Damn, you were hungry. Heh, I know the feeling."

His phone rang. Luckily, he didn't have to go far to reach it because he'd actually left it to charge on that same kitchen counter all night. Not even bothering to look at the his screen when he picked it up, he answered it in a tired voice.

"Yeah?"

"I want to talk to you."

He blinked. Was that…Kise's voice? He rose from the counter, standing up straight, wondering if he was still caught in his dream. "Hah? I thought you blocked my number."

"I did, but I unblocked it. I want to know who you are."

He hesitated. What was he supposed to make of this? Didn't Kise assume that Aomine was his stalker? And probably wanted to send the cops after him? Come to think of it, if he was going to do that, why hadn't he heard from any cops yet? Because Kise had his number, and it wouldn't have taken the cops long to find him. Yet, he'd heard nothing.

Kise's voice was even and a little bit cold. Aomine couldn't read it.

"Why?," he asked him.

"Because you're not the only one who found my personal phone number and I wanna know how you got it."  
Fair… but Aomine was still skeptical about this. If he told Kise who he was by giving him his name and other information about his identity, he was throwing himself into this situation completely and there would be no going back. He didn't know Kise, and Kise could be an asshole. Aomine might find himself in even worse shit.

Come to think of it…was his phone number still on that website? Aomine quickly hurried back to his bedroom, pulling his notebook out from his backpack and sat at his desk. He opened his laptop, punching in the address to the forum that he'd found earlier, which he'd written in his notebook just in case he needed to go back.

"One of your fansites," he said to Kise on the phone. It was the truth. "Maybe you should change your phone number."

Kise hesitated, which seemed strange. Wouldn't changing his phone number get rid of his stalker? "You still need to tell me who you are."

Aomine managed to pull up the forum, and scrolled through it. He remembered exactly when and where the particular comment with Kise's number had appeared.

It was gone. It seemed strange that he should feel relieved by that, but he was.

"Why? So you can send cops after me?" He asked Kise.

"Are you worried that I'll send cops after you?"

He inwardly sighed. His dream flashed in his mind and he could still recall it vividly: the way he'd showed up seemingly out of nowhere and the fear in Kise's eyes when he saw him. It still seemed like Kise was afraid of him, but…did that have to be the outcome? Did Kise really have to be afraid of him?

Fuck. He felt like he was on a downward spiral, slowly losing his mind. He didn't know what to do and he was slightly afraid that he was making one bad decision after another and getting himself into a horrible situation he'd never get out of.

…But if Kise died because of the events that happened in his dreams, and he didn't try to stop it, he didn't know if he could live with that. Maybe it was crazy, maybe he was losing it, but was any life worth the risk?

"My name is Aomine Daiki. I play basketball at Tokyo University. Jersey number is 6. That's about it."

Kagami, who was also on the same team, had jersey number 5, and Aomine was slightly bitter about that, but whatever. They still kept their fierce rivalry even though they were on the same team, and sometimes maybe they kind of worked together a little bit….maybe.

Kise hummed, as though he were thinking this over, and answered him again. "Why did you contact me? You said you knew I had a stalker. What made you say that?"

….Yeah, this wasn't going to work. "I can't tell you."

Kise's voice went from calm to irritated. "Why not?"

Because the truth was too crazy to tell him. Maybe Kise picked up on the fact that there had to be something to what Aomine said, but maybe what Aomine said had been way too accurate, and now Kise may be assuming that he was working with his stalker. Maybe that's why Kise was afraid of him in his dream.

"If I told you why not then you would know what it is I can't tell you."

Kise paused. "What?"

Aomine groaned. "I can't tell you. I said you had a stalker, you're right. He's dangerous. People like you are vulnerable. Watch your back. That's it. That's all I can tell you."

"People like me? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Pretty boys like you in the spotlight."

"If I find out you're involved in this—"

"Yeah, I know, you'll call the police. I'll believe it when I see it. Tell them to see me at a game, I'll make sure to show them one of my best shots before they take me in."

"….You're unbelievable."

"I hear that a lot."

"That wasn't a compliment."

"I know."

Kise sighed deeply. He sounded completely exasperated, not just with Aomine, but Aomine probably wasn't helping matters either. Well, whatever. Wasn't Aomine's problem.

"You really can't tell me anything else?" Kise asked. He almost sounded desperate. What exactly had this stalker been saying to him already? What had been happening?

Kise's question was difficult to answer. What could Aomine tell him? The only thing he had to go on was his dream, and when he'd called Kise initially he had no idea what he was going to say, only that he was going to try to give him what information he could. How much could he give him to convince him that he was in danger, but without making himself sound like the kind of creep that Kise's real stalker was?

"He's already going after you, isn't he?" Aomine asked instead, leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling. There was a reason Kise had called him, a reason he was desperate. He was scared.

"I asked you a question."

"Your voice is wavering. You're not a coward, but you're afraid."

"Shut up!"

"I don't have more information for you. You need to call the police and watch your back. You need to increase your security because the security you had at the show was pathetic. And you definitely shouldn't go out alone."

"I'm blocking your number again."

"Go ahead. I've told you what I wanted to say: that you have a stalker. But you already knew. There's nothing I can do."

Kise paused, and Aomine thought he'd hung up on him until the blond's voice broke the silence again. "The police can't find him. He used an app to text me with fake numbers. He left me a letter, but there's no physical traces on it that they can identify. That letter, by the way, was sent to my parent's house. Late last night I got call from my sister because someone called her asking for more information about me, pretending that they were my friend who'd lost contact with me. I have no idea what he's going to do next. So while you're there acting like a big shot because you're dangling information in front of my face, the cops and my manager and my staff are all scrambling. I hope you're satisfied."

Aomine frowned. This was even worse than he thought. "Why are you telling me all this if you don't trust me?"

"If this stalker comes within a meter of me, if anything happens to me, then you'll have to live with that for the rest of your life because you chose to act like this. Is that what you want?"

There was a click as Kise hung up on him. Aomine sat his phone down slowly, only able to stare at the wall as Kise's words repeated in his mind.

"I don't know what more you want to know. Him, the stalker, and it was at night. That's it."

"Every detail, Aomine-kun. Let's start with the basics: where did it take place? What did the setting look like?"

Kuroko sat across from Aomine on a table near a café on campus the next day. The conversation was long overdue, but Aomine had been putting this off because he had no idea how telling Kuroko the color of the wall that Kise was pinned to in his dream could benefit at all. In any case, Kise's words had rattled him more than he was willing to admit so…he'd at least humor Kuroko a little bit.

"It was a brick wall. Red."

"Was it a business? Apartment complex?"

"I don't know. Just saw the wall. It was an alley."

"What else was in the alley?"

"Some trash. I don't remember anything else."

Kuroko was taking notes as Aomine spoke, which made Aomine feel like he was talking to a shrink, and he didn't like it. He rested his chin on his hand lazily, giving Kuroko the most bored look of his life.

"What was Kise-san wearing?"

Aomine rubbed his face, trying to remember. "Grey sweater, black jacket, a scarf…white scarf. Wore it loose though, so his neck was open." What seemed to ruin the point of a scarf, but whatever, wasn't his place to judge.

"Jewelry?"

"Earring. Left ear. Blue."

Kuroko looked at him. "Kise-san always wears an earring on his left ear."

"Well I told you I wasn't crazy!" Aomine said with a frown.

"I know, I just find this….stunning."

It was too bad that he didn't tell Kuroko about how he'd talked to Kise and was going to warn him of having a stalker but he already had one. Should he tell him?

Nah.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Okay, you said the dream took place at night but…what was the weather like?"

"I dunno…seemed kinda cold, I think. There was a full moon."

"Full moon? That could be impor—"

"Dai-chan!"

Aomine blinked, but in the instant he wondered where Momoi's angry voice had come from, he felt a harsh tugging on his ear from his right side as Kuroko blankly stared.

"Ow! Ow! What the hell are you doing? Let me go!"

Momoi let him go, but was standing next to him with her hands on her hips, glaring at him.

"What's that look for?" he demanded.

"Telling Tetsu-kun about your dreams? Hm? What about me?"

Aw, crap. This is what he gets for talking to Kuroko outside in the middle of goddamn campus instead of in his apartment or somewhere else secluded. "Satsuki, they're just dreams, they're not important."

"I don't believe you. You've haven't been yourself for a few weeks now. I've seen how you act when you have nightmares but these ones are really upsetting you."

"I'm not upset! Jeez, it's just annoying, that's all."

She balled her hand into a fist, slamming it down on top of his head. "Don't lie to me! Let me help you for once in your life, or I'll get the details from Tetsu-kun myself."

Kuroko just sat there watching them calmly.

Aomine pouted, rubbing on top of his head where she'd hit. He knew that it wasn't because it was jealous, it was because she actually cared about his stupid ass, but did she have to hit him so hard when she was like half his damn size? Shit. "Promise me you won't call me crazy."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Just promise me, Satsuki."

"Okay, okay." She sat down, looking at him curiously. "I'm listening."

He glanced over at Kuroko, who's expression gave nothing away, and looked around to make sure no one was close by as he spoke. "I've been having the same dream over and over about a guy being threatened. You know I was having them before the concert we went to. Well, at the concert I realized the guy in my dream was Kise. I never saw his face before the concert. It's stupid, it doesn't make sense."

Momoi looked at him closely with wide eyes, clearly confused and wondering if Aomine had lost his mind. Then she looked over to Kuroko for his reaction.

Kuroko looked down at his notes. "The details he's giving are startling. For example, he told me that in his dreams, Kise-san is wearing an earring on his left ear. In every photo I've seen of Kise-kun online and in magazines, he always has a left earring."

Momoi looked back at Aomine. "So you're trying to figure out if the dreams are real?"

By this point, Aomine knew the dreams were real. That was the scary part, but he didn't want to tell them that he knew that. He sighed heavily. "I guess."

"I want to help."

Aomine stared at her. Kuroko helping was one thing, but Momoi helping was another. Momoi was very good, almost too good, at getting information on people. She used her powers for good (basketball, of course), but what if she found herself wrapped up in this mess like Aomine was? All Kuroko was doing was trying to decipher the details of his actual dream, but Momoi would actually get herself involved. Her safety could come into question and she didn't know it.

"No," he said.

"What? Why not? You know I can help you."

"Kise has a stalker, and he's dangerous. It's too risky."

"Well we have to warn him!"

Kuroko interrupted them, staring at Aomine cautiously. "Aomine-kun…did you say that in present tense?"

Shit. He sure as hell did. Shit. He bit his lip and looked away from both of them, trying to figure out how he could get out of this one. Momoi wasn't going to give him the chance to and tugged on his ear again to get his attention.

"What did you do?" she demanded. "You did something, didn't you? What are you hiding?!"

"Ow! Ow! Stop doing that!"

"Tell me what you're hiding!"

She finally let him go and he pouted again, crossing his arms, staring down at the table. "I found his phone number. I've talked to him."

Momoi and Kuroko's eyes widened as they stared at him.

"How did you find it?" Momoi asked.

"Beats me. I'm surprised I found anything."

Kuroko chimed in, "Did you tell him about the dreams?"

Aomine shook his head. "No. Why the hell would he believe me? I told him he has a stalker but…turns out he already has one and the police can't find him because he's covering his tracks."

Momoi frowned, looking genuinely worried. It was still a wonder to Aomine that she believed this at all, but maybe it was just due to the fact that they'd known each other since they were kids, so she knew he wouldn't make something like this up. Maybe some people would, but not Aomine. Why would he even care to do something like that? Kuroko already believing it probably helped, but he was still expecting her to ask him if he was feeling sick or something.

"Do you know who the stalker is?"

"I wish. Don't even know what he looks like. He's wearing a hood in my dream, and it's dark. I might recognize his voice but…that's about it."

"This is bad…"

Yeah, he knew. He had to wonder if Kise blocked his number again like he said he would, but he didn't want to test that theory. At least, not until he had any information Kise might be able to use. For the moment, all he had was a dream.

"A couple of nights ago, the dream changed a little bit. I wasn't there before, but I'm there now."

Kuroko definitely looked worried by that. "You didn't mention this."

"Well I was going to but someone interrupted," Aomine said, shooting a look at Momoi.

"Please tell me more about this," Kuroko said.

"Not much to it. I came up behind them. I'm mad. The stalker turns around, Kise asks me what I'm doing there, and I woke up. That's it."

Kuroko took notes. "I'm going to do some research. Please tell me if the dream changes again."

"What kind of fucking research are you doing anyway?"

"Dream interpretation," Kuroko said, as though it were so simple.

"How the hell does that work if the dream is real?"

"I can't make any promises, but I'm hoping that the details in the dream can help us decipher when and where this happens."

Aomine rubbed his face. He didn't know how that was supposed to help at all, but at this point he was willing to try just about anything.

"I'll do some research too," Momoi said. "I bet I can find this stalker faster than the cops can."

Aomine glared at her. "That's what I'm afraid of."

"Just trust me on this, okay?"

"Any single piece of information you find, I want you to bring it to me."

"What about the cops?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"Dai-chan…."

"The first thing they'll assume is that we're stalkers too. Look, I'm not throwing myself into the fire for some annoying pretty boy I don't even know. I just want some goddamn sleep. That's it."

Momoi and Kuroko exchanged glances briefly, which Aomine didn't understand one bit, and then looked back at him.

"Let's just work together and figure this out so we can make sure the dream doesn't happen, okay?" Momoi said. "If he told you he has a stalker already, we gotta act fast."

Aomine stood up, grabbing his bag and throwing it over his shoulder. This was just about exhausting at this point. "Yeah. I gotta go to class. Tell me what you find."

"Don't be late for practice, Dai-chan! We have a game on Friday!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be there on time." At least basketball would give him something else to focus on for awhile instead of this shit.


	5. Reaching Out

Shoes squeaked on the basketball court so loudly in Tokyo University's home arena that they could be heard over the crowd's cheers. The home team had a lot of energy, scoring basket after basket even as the game started. The point gap between the teams was growing, but the crowd seemed to enjoy the impressive moves from their beloved home team nonetheless.

Kise Ryouta was unfamiliar with this team and it's members. Sports had bored him a long time ago when he decided to take up his singing career, but he couldn't help but wonder what might have happened if he had met players like this before he'd changed his mind about sports.

He was sitting in the crowd alone, despite everyone he knew telling him he shouldn't be anywhere alone right now. But coming here was something he had to do, and he had someone he wanted to meet. Kise was usually cooperative with his manager's demands, but this was a unique situation and he felt it required him to take matters into his own hands.

He was wearing a black wig, a beanie over that, and a pair of fashionable sunglasses. It may not have been his best disguise, but it seemed to be working so far nonetheless. He kept to himself, though he did listen to the crowd around him to gain some knowledge about the team.

This team had two great players, but which one of them was the ace depended on whom you asked. Their coach liked to play them separately because they were so skilled that it was almost senseless to use them both at the same time and wear them out quicker. One of them was Kagami Taiga, from Seirin High, jersey number 5.

The other one was Aomine Daiki, from Touou Academy, jersey number 6.

Kagami was used first. The crowd seemed to love him and his play was aggressive, very driven. Kise liked watching him enough, but that's not who he was here for, so waiting until the third quarter when the coach finally decided to pull him out and use Aomine was a little bit tedious.

Now, Kise had a face to put to a name. Aomine was tall and fairly well built. He stood out not just from his darker skin or dark blue hair, but from the aura he emitted from the moment he stepped on the court. Like he owned it. This was his territory and all the other players were just visiting and he was here to clean house.

Given the conversations he had with Aomine, he wasn't sure what to make of that, but it definitely was not what he was expecting.

The quarter began and Aomine was racing across the court like lightning. It wasn't unlike Kagami, but it was different. There was something almost carefree about Aomine's style that was different from anything he'd ever seen in sports before.

It was captivating.

The opposing team didn't stand a chance. Kagami had already racked up several points and now Aomine was continuing to do the same. Kise got the sense that Aomine was capable of even more than he was showing, which was almost frightening because he was already showing skills most people could only dream of having. Exactly who was this guy?

He had to meet him.

After those last two extremely interesting quarters, the game ended and people began to filter out. The score wasn't exactly close, but Kise continued to stay amazed and captivated by Aomine and his style of play that a small part of him had forgotten why he was here. He was actually angry at himself for this. He'd watched the game to try to get a sense of who Aomine was, but now he was more confused than when he'd spoken to Aomine over the phone days ago.

Kise left with the rest of the crowd, blending in with them until he got outside, where he diverted from the court to find the exit that the team left in. He figured that Aomine was in the locker room with his team, so he should be able to get there before Aomine left. Before Kise had come here tonight, he'd done some research on the building itself, so now he knew exactly where to go.

He found the particular exit that Aomine should come out of with relative ease and waited nearby it. It was dark and he was alone under a dimly lit street lamp, which was not exactly his ideal place to be right now, but he wasn't leaving until he met with Aomine.

It felt like he'd waited forever before the door opened and the team poured out, all going their separate ways to head home. Kagami came out, talking on the phone as he walked off and behind him was Aomine and a pink-haired girl. The girl said goodbye to him with a smile and walked off. Aomine went in a separate direction from the rest of the team and Kise made his move.

He walked over to Aomine, still in his full disguise including the shades despite being nighttime, and cleared his throat. "Excuse me sir, I'm a little lost, I was hoping you could help me."

Aomine's eyes widened. He knew instantly, despite Kise's laughable excuse of a disguise. It must have worked for him well enough though, because he wasn't being tailed by a crowd of fangirls. But was he out of his mind? Fangirls weren't the only people trying to tail him, he knew that!

"There's a security guard around the corner. Go talk to him," Aomine said, giving him a glare.

He started to walk off but Kise grabbed onto his jacket, peeking over his sunglasses to look at him. "Oh, but I really think you should help me."

Glaring at him, Aomine jerked himself away, reluctantly deciding to play Kise's fake game. "Sounds like you're pretty far from home. Follow me, but keep your hands to yourself."

Oh, he was going to let Kise follow him, but he was going to give him the earful of his life when he got him back to his apartment. The fucking nerve of this guy.

Aomine locked the door behind him when they arrived. If Kise was fazed by this Aomine couldn't tell, but he wasn't paying much attention anyway as he threw his keys and bag on the kitchen counter, not even bothering to take off his shoes as he turned to Kise with a glare.

"You are out of your goddamn mind."

"Why did you bring me to your apartment?" Kise demanded, matching his look with one of his own.

"It's the middle of the night, my options aren't exactly extensive at the moment, Your Highness. And you followed me here! What the hell is wrong with you? You might as well be knocking at your stalker's door. What if I was really working with your stalker? I can't believe this. You're a goddamn idiot…."

Aomine had more he wanted to say, but he found himself slightly distracted by the way Kise shed his disguise, shaking his fine blond hair when it was finally exposed in the middle of Aomine's scolding. Fucking pretty boy.

"But you're not working with him," Kise said, oddly calm, looking at Aomine with messy hair.

Aomine squinted at him. "So what, you're psychic now? Adding that to your list of talents?"

Kise set his wig, sunglasses, and beanie aside on a table and pulled out his phone. He poked at it for a minute before shoving it to Aomine. "Read this."

Giving him a look that was a mixture between confusion and frustration, he took the phone and glanced down at the text messages Kise was showing him.

 _Received message: Have you changed your mind, Kise-kun? I'm sorry if I scared you. I only want to be with you. We're perfect for each other._

 _Sent message: Stop doing this. Your behavior is inappropriate and I'm not interested._

 _Received message: I can't stop thinking about you. I dream about you. I know that we could make each other happy. I just want to talk to you alone._

 _Sent message: I refuse to meet with someone who has no respect for me and my personal boundaries._

Aomine looked back up at Kise, handing him his phone. "Sounds like a fucking creep."

Kise looked down at his phone. He looked tired. Aomine wasn't the only one who was having trouble sleeping lately. "There's more just like this. He keeps using different numbers to text me. No matter what number I block he just uses a different one. There's more."

Aomine watched as Kise poked at his phone again and played a voicemail on speaker.

 _"You could have at least picked up, Kise-kun. You're continuing to ignore me and it's making me sad. You know that? You're breaking my heart because all I want to do is show you that I could be good for you. I know you'll listen to me eventually. I'll find ways to make you listen."_

Aomine tried not to look too shocked when he heard the voice and instantly recognized it was from his dream. Nothing about this should surprise him anymore, but every little shred of evidence or proof he got just felt so surreal.

There was no room for denial anymore. None. His dream was real, end of story.

Kise was looking at him sternly, studying his expression while the voicemail played. When it was over, he ended the call and shoved his phone back in a pocket, continuing to stare at Aomine right in his eyes.

"I don't know what your deal is, but there's something I can tell without a doubt," Kise said, keeping his eyes on Aomine. "You're not the type of person this guy is. I don't even think you're a fan of mine. Yet somehow, you know something. The cops can't detect this guy and nobody knows who he really is, but somehow you know something and you're sitting on information that could stop him. I don't know what you want, but I'm willing to bet you don't know what this feels like. I need to know what you know, and I'll leave you alone. I won't tell the cops. Just tell me what you know and you'll never have to hear from me again."

As Kise spoke, Aomine could tell he was having trouble keeping himself together. He tried to stay stern because he was definitely angry, but it was too obvious that he was also scared because his voice started to waver ever so slightly.

Aomine bit his lip and looked away. "It's not that simple."

The look on Kise's face was as though Aomine had just struck a blow. "Bullshit," he said, his voice starting to crack a bit. "Do you know what it's like always looking over your shoulder? Do you know what it's like to be worried about not just your own safety, but the safety of the people you care about? To have someone so fascinated with you that they don't care how you feel because all they wanna do is use you? What do you want? Just tell me what you know."

"I think you need to leave."

Kise moved closer, grabbing his jacket and looking at him. His eyes started to water. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what you know!"

Was…was he crying? Aomine grabbed his shoulders, gently pushing him back as he avoided his gaze. "You wouldn't believe me," he said, his voice quiet. "I don't have the answers you're looking for. Stop crying. Go home. You shouldn't be here."

Kise hurriedly tried to wipe his eyes, but made sure Aomine knew how determined he was. "You don't know me and what I'd believe. I'm not going to send cops after you, if that's what you're afraid of. I don't care. Just tell me how I can put an end to this."

Aomine frowned. There was just no way that Kise would believe him. Kise knew that he wasn't the type of person his stalker was, but that didn't mean he would believe Aomine about his dream. There was just no way. Seeing Kise this upset to the point where he was even crying in front of someone he barely knew was enough to tug at Aomine's heartstrings. He had no idea what Kise was feeling right now and he knew that, but even if he told Kise the dream, what would that help? What could he take from that? Stay away from brick buildings?

He turned away, starting to take off his jacket and shoes. "I can't help you."

He heard Kise sobbing behind him, but only for a moment when he heard a beeping from Kise's jacket. His phone. Aomine looked back at him over his shoulder, seeing his hands trembling as he pulled his phone out, glancing at it.

As the blond looked at his phone, he gasped. Aomine's brows furrowed. "What is it?"

"He…he…." Instead of finishing the sentence, he showed his phone to Aomine.

 _Received message: Where are you, Kise-kun? Why aren't you at your apartment? Where can I see you?_

Aomine's eyes widened. Well, fuck. "Don't answer it."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Don't go home tonight. Is there somewhere else you can go? That isn't your parents' house or someone else in your family? Someone you trust?"

Kise looked down, thinking for a moment. "Yeah…I have a friend I can call."

"Good, then go there."

"I'm still not leaving until you tell me what you know."

Aomine hesitated.

"Please….," Kise pressed.

Aomine turned away again. "Don't wander alone at night."

"That's it?"

"You need to leave. Do you have a way to your friend's house without walking?" Kise wasn't wearing the outfit he was wearing in his dream, so thankfully nothing should happen tonight. It didn't mean it wasn't going to happen at all, but it shouldn't happen tonight. He hoped.

"Yes," Kise said curtly.

"Then get the hell out of my apartment."

Kise stared at him again, in complete disbelief, and hurt. Aomine confused him because he didn't seem to be heartless, but he was still withholding information, and now he was kicking him out of his apartment. What was Aomine's deal? There seemed to be a lot more to him than met the eye, but Aomine was refusing to give him the chance to see it.

Kise put on his wig and beanie again. "Fine." Just before he shut the door, he left Aomine with one last statement:

"I hope you can sleep at night."

Aomine practically felt the door slam. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, waiting until he was sure Kise had walked away from his door before he pulled out his phone and made a call.

"Satsuki, it's me. Need to talk. You won't believe who was just over here."

A/N: Okay so I'm actually a couple of chapters ahead for this fic at the moment but I may take some extra time in publishing them because I wanna make sure the plot is solid when the story's done because I've had to change a few things from how I originally planned (even in this chapter). That being said, writing is still going well so no worries, there will be updates before you know it :) Thank you for the support!


	6. The Threat

Aomine lay lazily on the sofa in Momoi's apartment, arm draped over his eyes as he listened to Momoi typing away at the computer at a nearby desk. He had given her Kise's phone number, only after making her promise not to call him, so she could attempt to find something on Kise's stalker. He had no idea what she was doing or how she was doing it and he wasn't even sure if it was legal, but what choice did he have?

"I still think you need to tell him the dream," Momoi said, scrolling through a website she was on.

"Like hell," Aomine sneered from the sofa. "Then he'll definitely think I work with his stalker."

"You can't keep pushing him away, Dai-chan. Not if you're trying to save his life."

Aomine sat up and glared at the back of her head. "He's not my friend. I told you, I just want to get some goddamn sleep."

Momoi sighed, but changed the subject, looking back at him. "It looks like the calls keep coming from campus. If you ask me I think it's someone who not only goes here, but lives on campus too."

"Yeah? Bet he was at the show."

"Probably. But that's all I can find right now."

There was a knock at the door. Momoi jumped up from her chair and headed over to the door as Aomine lay back down on the couch lazily. His thoughts were instantly interrupted by Momoi's enthusiastic greeting when she opened the door.

"Tetsu-kun! Kagamin! Come on in!"

The pair entered together and Momoi closed the door behind them. Aomine sat up, wondering what in the world they were doing here because Kuroko looked worried, and Kagami even looked concerned as well. What reason would Kagami have to be concerned unless….

"You told Kagami didn't you?" Aomine demanded, glancing at Kuroko.

Before Kuroko could answer, Kagami spoke sternly, glancing right at Aomine. "I found his notes about your dream while I was cleaning. Relax. If it's enough for him to believe it, then I believe it too."

Kagami wasn't going to call him crazy? Really? That surprised him a little bit, but he supposed it was just a testament to how much he trusted Kuroko.

"….Fine," Aomine said with a resigned sigh, slouching on the couch again. He should have just kept his damn mouth shut.

Momoi frowned at him before returning her attention to the pair in front of her. "What brings you two here? Would you like a drink?"

Kuroko shook his head. "No, I think I found out something. I think I know where the dream takes place."

Everyone's eyes were on him.

"I'm listening," Aomine said calmly.

"Aomine-kun, you said your dream takes place during a full moon. I glanced at Kise-san's website and he has a show during the next full moon at a club called Citrine."

Momoi's eyes widened as she put a hand to her mouth. "That club is a brick building."

"Yes," Kuroko said. "And there's an alley next to it."

Aomine was tense. He should have thought to check Kise's website for his upcoming shows, but he didn't. The full moon along with other details that Kuroko had asked for all seemed meaningless but…maybe it wasn't. "Wait a second but…he was alone. Why would he be alone during a show?"

"Maybe this stalker kidnaps him," Kagami said. "Like between sets or after the show."

Momoi looked over at Aomine, frowning. "It's possible. This guy is pretty slick."

Aomine struggled with himself. Maybe he could call Kise and tell him that his stalker was going to be at that show. Kise would believe Aomine because he knew that Aomine knew something, and then Aomine didn't even have to go to the show. Kise would have enough warning to beef up his security before the show and Aomine wouldn't have to do a thing. Kise would have just enough information to keep himself safe, the police or security would find the stalker at the show, and then this would be over.

But what if that didn't happen?

"I'm going to the show," Aomine said.

Momoi looked at him sternly. "Then I'm going with you. I won't let you do this alone."

"I'm going too," Kuroko said with a firm glance. "I will help find Kise-san's attacker."

Kagami looked at Kuroko with a concerned glance. "If you're going, then I'm going too. This sounds like it's gonna get ugly."

All of them going? Was that a good idea? If this was ugly, what was the purpose of dragging all of them into it? At the same time…if they didn't go, he might miss something that one of them would see, as much as he hated to admit that. And…he doubted that he could get away with going alone at this point, even if he wanted to. Maybe he should have lied about going or just not even said anything, but there was no turning back now.

He knew the consequences of acting alone, but it was always a knee jerk reaction for him. This time though, it involved something dangerous, and he had friends who were just crazy enough to believe that he had a nightmare that was coming true.

Not many people had friends like that.

They were trying to help him, and it didn't matter to them if they liked Kise's music or not. It was the simple fact that they realized they might have the ability to help someone who needed it. Maybe it wasn't their problem, but if they were the only ones who could help Kise, then why should they, as human beings, turn away?

Aomine glanced at them. "Okay. We're all going."

They all looked a little surprised, but also thankful that he chose not to argue.

"By the way," he continued, "you're all idiots."

His friends collectively sighed in exasperation.

A little later in the day, Aomine headed back to his apartment. He had a mountain of homework he'd been putting off that, well, probably still wasn't going to get done in favor of trying to get a nap. It wasn't unlike him to put off homework anyway, but it was even worse lately due to being even more stressed than normal.

He laid on his couch, Ren resting on his chest like usual. He tried to get some sleep, but his mind kept racing. Not that he was surprised, but it was irritating having his thoughts filled with Kise more and more as the days went on. Kise was so desperate for help that he'd come running to a man he didn't even know, who he, for some reason, thought he might be able to trust despite the way that Aomine treated him. Aomine had shoved him away, threw him out of his apartment, and scolded him and yet somehow he couldn't bring himself to regret having reached out to Kise because it just might save his life.

Kise wasn't just a pretty face. He had a heart so full that it seemed to burst continuously in the form of the kisses he blew on stage, the way he seemed to cry so easily in front of Aomine, and the emotion he poured into his words. He wasn't just a pretty boy who could sing, he was a person who had thoughts and fears and dreams, and right now he was afraid for his life and couldn't go anywhere or do anything without looking over his shoulder. Kise had been right, Aomine didn't know what that felt like. Kise shouldn't have to know what it was like either.

There was a knock on his door and Aomine was tempted to ignore it, but if it was Satsuki he'd never hear the end of ignoring it, so he begrudgingly got up as Ren jumped off his chest.

Aomine opened the door to see…Kise. Of course. He deadpanned at him, but at least this time Kise had come in the middle of the day, and he was again wearing his black wig and beanie and sunglasses.

"For fuck's sake," Aomine said, putting his head in his hand. "You don't give up do you?"

Without even saying anything, Kise pulled out his phone, showing Aomine the text messages on the screen, which appeared to be part of a longer conversation, but Kise wanted him to see just a specific part of it.

 _Sent message: Leave me alone. I have no interest in you. Never. I refuse to give myself up to a creep like you. Leave me alone!_

 _Received message: I see. You have made your choice, so now I have to make mine. I'm coming for you. I'll make you understand if it's the last thing I do._

 _Sent message: Are you threatening me?_

 _Received message: It's a promise._

Aomine stared at the screen longer after he'd read the messages. Was this where this guy decided to attack Kise at the show? Is that what was happening?

"Let me in," Kise pleaded, putting his phone away. He kept his voice as firm as he could, but it was clear that he was afraid.

Aomine moved aside to let him in, slamming the door shut behind him as he felt a surge of anger. Goddammit. Goddammit. What if Kise got attacked before the show? What if his dream was wrong somehow? It wasn't a full moon yet, but the circumstances could change, couldn't they? It wasn't like he could watch Kise 24 hours a day. What was he supposed to do?

"Now will you tell me what you know?" Kise demanded, watching him.

"Sit down," Aomine said firmly.

Kise watched him carefully, choosing to take a seat on a chair across from the couch. Ren slowly walked over to him, pacing around his ankles and then nudging his leg. The sensation surprised Kise, who looked down to see the cat, managing to smile just slightly. "Hi there. You're cute," he said, reaching down to scratch the top of his head a bit.

Aomine took a seat at the couch, leaning forward, watching him for a moment. He hadn't seen Kise smile much, save for the concert he'd attended, but his smile was big and bright enough to light up a room even though it masked distress and fear.

Kise eventually let Ren go and took off his beanie and wig, setting them on his lap with his sunglasses. He gazed at Aomine firmly, but he looked like he was going to crack at any moment.

"You're still not going to believe me," Aomine said.

"I don't care if you think I won't believe you. Tell me."

Aomine watched as Ren hopped up on the armrest of the couch Kise was laying on. It was actually pretty unlike Ren to show any kind of attention to strangers. Sometimes he didn't even bother with people Aomine was actually friends with unless it was Momoi, but he seemed to like Kise a lot.

"A few weeks ago, before your concert at Tokyo University, I started having recurring dreams. Not about me, but about someone I didn't know being threatened in an alley. As the days went by, the dream began to show me more details, and I figured out the attacker was a stalker. Outside of that, the details are sketchy."

He expected Kise to stop him right about this point and demand he tell him the truth or question what a dream had to do with anything, but he didn't. He continued to watch Aomine close and listen.

But why even tell Kise about the dream if he thought it was so crazy? He couldn't stop thinking about the most recent dream and the look of fear in Kise's eyes when he showed up. Maybe Aomine went there to stop the attacker, but for some reason he couldn't put a finger on, Kise being that afraid of him wasn't something he wanted. He shouldn't care, it shouldn't matter if he was trying to help him, he knew that. But he couldn't get past the thought, and if he told Kise about the dreams…even if Kise didn't believe him, maybe the outcome would be different from the dream.

"I never saw your face before the concert. I don't listen to your music. My best friend dragged me and a couple of other friends to the show because she's a fan. As soon as I saw you at the concert….I knew the dream was about you."

Kise continued to watch him closely. "You didn't know what to do, so you were going to warn me about having a stalker, but he had already started stalking me."

"Yeah," Aomine said, looking at him. He wanted to say something else, but he didn't know what because he was waiting for Kise to tell him he was crazy.

Kise was looking back at him, but didn't say anything either, his expression a mix of confusion and something else. Disbelief? Shock? Aomine wasn't sure.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and made a call, keeping his gaze on Kise. He put the call on speaker.

"Tetsu, do me a favor."

"What is it, Aomine-kun?"

"Send me a picture of your notes about my dreams."

"Of course."

"Thanks."

Aomine ended the call, watching Kise stare at him with a confused expression while he waited for Kuroko's text message to come in. Kuroko sent message quickly, it having contained a decent picture of his notes regarding the details of Aomine's dream. Once the picture was up on his phone, he handed it to Kise.

"He wrote down every detail I gave him and made me remember some I forgot."

Kise took the phone, looking at it closely, looking over every little piece that Kuroko had written down. He still looked pretty stunned.

Aomine spoke again. "You have a show during the next full moon at Citrine, right? The alley next to it resembles my dream. I suggest you do what I said before and increase your security and don't go anywhere alone. If you believe me, that is."

Kise handed his phone back to him, frowning and biting his lip. "…I do."

Aomine blinked. "What?"

"I believe you."

"You're joking."

"I'm not. For one thing, you've told me twice you don't listen to my music. If you were really working with him, you'd probably lie about that. Or at least try to." Kise couldn't help but grin just a little bit at that last part, in spite of himself.

Aomine deadpanned. Of all the things he'd told him, that's the part that stuck out to him the most? "Do you know who this guy is? Do you have a name, know what he looks like, anything?"

"I don't have his full name but…he said his name is Michio. He approached me during the Tokyo University show and I signed a magazine for him. But because I don't have his full name, no one can find him. I gave the police a description, but he doesn't really stand out or have any identifying marks….it seems impossible to find him."

Michio…. Aomine pulled out his phone again to text Momoi.

 _Sent message: The stalker's name is Michio. He was at the show. Talked to Kise. No identifying marks, blends in._

"What are you doing?" Kise asked.

"Trying to find him."

Kise looked surprised by this. "How can you do that?"

Aomine almost laughed. "I'm not giving away all my secrets."

"Are you really sure you wanna do this?" Kise asked, fidgeting nervously with the beanie in his lap. "Maybe you should hand your information to the police."

This time Aomine definitely laughed. "Listen Kise, if there's one thing you should know about me, it's that when I decide I wanna do something, I do it." Aomine also knew that he was the only person that Kise could count on right now. No one else could help him. Not the police, not his managers, his security, anyone…just some random college basketball player with a chip on his shoulder who had some really good friends. Aomine and his friends were the only hope Kise had.

Judging by the look on Kise's face, he knew it too.

The blond stood up, putting on his wig again. "I can tell. I saw the way you play basketball."

Aomine wasn't sure how to take that, but he'd consider it a compliment if he ever heard one.

Kise put on his beanie and sunglasses again, heading for the door. For a moment, Aomine wondered if he should tell him that he and his friends were going to the show but….he hesitated.

The blond turned the doorknob, but stopped for a moment to look back at Aomine.

"When this is over…you think we'll see each other again?"

Aomine blinked. That definitely wasn't a question he was expecting. "Right now, I think we should focus on getting to that point."

Kise turned away, opening the door. "Right. Goodbye then." He slipped out and shut the door behind him.

It seemed like every time they talked, Kise left him with more to think about than he bargained for. Aomine didn't know how he managed to do that, but it was getting more and more confusing.

Once Kise was gone, Aomine went through his phone again, looking over the pictures of Kuroko's notes. Kuroko had sent the details of almost everything he'd written about his dream, and now Kise had seen it, but Aomine realized that one crucial detail was missing that Aomine also neglected to mention himself: the part of the dream where Aomine showed up. Did Kuroko do that on purpose?

Maybe it was for the best.


	7. It's Not That Simple

"Boom! Got him," Momoi said proudly.

Aomine got up from Momoi's sofa and walked over to where she was sitting at her computer. Kagami and Kuroko, who had been sitting at her kitchen table looking through Kuroko's dream notes again, closely followed him and the three of them looked over Momoi's shoulder at her computer.

"Who is he?" Aomine asked.

"Hayashi Michio, 175cm, 19 year old student at Tokyo University."

"Do you have a picture?" Kuroko asked.

"Right here," she said, scrolling down a bit so they could see the picture from the school's website where she found it.

Aomine frowned. "That's that asshole that ran right into me at the concert."

"Kise-san said he came to visit him after the show, right? I bet he ran into you on his way to see him."

Kagami looked at each of them, feeling uncertain. "Um…do we have a plan?"

Did they need a plan? Aomine didn't know. He hadn't thought about it. His "plan" had consisted of going to the concert, looking for this guy, and making sure he didn't hurt Kise. That was the plan. Did they need another plan?

Momoi turned in her chair and looked at Aomine. "Did you tell Kise-san we were going to the show?"

Aomine bit his lip. "No. What difference does it make?"

"But we're going there to help him."

Kuroko chimed in, sensing Momoi's irritation. "Yes, but even if Aomine-kun told him, it may not change his fate. However, Hayashi-san will be in the crowd. We will have to watch the crowd closely for suspicious movement. We don't know when he'll strike."

"He'll probably try to sneak backstage and get Kise outside," Kagami said. "It's a standing show, so if we want to watch the front, we'll have to push our way up there, or get there very early."

"What if we split up and cover multiple areas of the club?" Momoi asked.

Kagami and Aomine answered her in unison: "No."

"Yeah…you're probably right."

Kuroko nodded. "They're right. We can accomplish more when we work together. We arrive together, stay together and keep an eye on the crowd. If we see him, we keep an eye on him. With luck, we'll be able to get him to the police."

Aomine sighed heavily in frustration. "There's going to be a ton of fucking people there. This is ridiculous."

"All four of us have observational skills, though it is probably to your benefit that I am going."

Momoi smiled, facing the three of them. "With Tetsu-kun's observational skills and Dai-chan and Kagamin's speed nothing can get past us."

But Aomine was still frustrated. They'd talked about every detail of his dreams carefully and worked this out based on that and the information Kise had given to Aomine. Even so, all this was based on a dream. What if something else happened before the show? Or even during it that they couldn't see coming? What if suddenly they found Kise's dead body because they failed?

"Dai-chan…" Momoi called. "Are you worried?"

Aomine frowned and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Let's just make sure we get to the show early. Nobody splits up and let security know when we see something. We don't come in contact with him, and security will take care of it. Then it's over."

Everyone just stared at him.

"What?" he demanded. "I don't know why I'm the one that had these damn dreams anyway. Of all people, why me? Doesn't make any damn sense. I didn't ask for this."

Kuroko looked at him with earnest eyes. "Maybe you and Kise-san have a connection."

Aomine snorted. "Yeah, right. My ass. Let's just go over those show details again so I can go home and sleep."

That night, Aomine had trouble falling asleep, which wasn't a surprise. It had been happening ever since the dreams started and only got worse as the nights went on. Even as the dream details began to change, he still had the same dream on several nights, as though he were not meant to forget a single detail. By this point, he had the entire scenario of the dream memorized. The exact shade of the brick red wall, where the full moon hung in the sky, the colors and patterns of Kise's clothes, the way Kise's voice broke when he saw the knife, and the look in his eyes when he saw Aomine. It was ingrained in his mind and he had a feeling that long after this was over, no matter the outcome, he would still remember the smallest details.

He didn't know if he and Kise had any kind of connection like Kuroko had suggested. It seemed too incredible to be true, but so had his dream. Kise had implied that he wanted to see him again when this was over. What did that mean? Kise had a busy life as a rising popular singer and Aomine juggled his school and his basketball career. What was it that Kise wanted? What could he possibly want from someone like Aomine who only kept pushing him away as much as possible, who claimed he was only trying to save his life so he could sleep at night?

What was it about Kise that seemed to make him feel…soft?

Eventually, he did fall asleep. However, he'd only been asleep for a few hours when his phone started vibrating.

Groaning and about ready to violently murder whoever had interrupted his precious slumber, he reached over to his nightstand and picked up his phone.

"What?" he demanded in a groggy voice.

"A-Aominecchi?"

"Hah? What's with the –cchi? Kise?"

There was a brief pause before he heard his voice again. "I….I can't sleep."

Aomine felt like he should be mad. Any other time, from just about any other person, he would probably start scolding them about how they woke him up. And yeah, he definitely did not want to be awake right now, but the trembling in Kise's voice tugged at something in him, and he didn't have it in him to be angry. "Did something happen?" he asked tiredly.

Kise sniffled. "No…I just don't feel safe at my apartment anymore. I don't feel safe anywhere."

Aomine threaded a hand through his hair. "Has he tried coming to your apartment again?"

"I told the security here about it when I talked to the police, so there's always someone close by but….I'm afraid of him finding a way in."

"What about that friend you were staying with?"

"He had to leave town for a business trip. But Aominecchi…I don't wanna run anymore. I'm sick of running."

Aomine thought about that. There was a difference between running away and looking out for your own safety, but he could understand the sentiment all the same. He didn't like running either. "This will be over soon."

"It's funny…all the cops keep saying is that they're doing their best, or they're looking, or whatever….but the only person who's given me any hope is you."

Aomine fell quiet.

"I don't know why I believe you. I shouldn't. A dream? About something happening to me, when you didn't know me? What sane person would believe something like that? But when you told me, you looked so sincere….and I know you're telling me the truth."

Aomine stared out of his window with the half-opened curtain, gazing at the cloudy night sky outside. "Is that why you called me?"

"You act like a jerk. You get cranky, try to push me away, but there's no way that you're that simple. In a way, I can relate to that. Most people just see me as a pretty face and a nice voice. But…nobody's that simple. Not me and not you."

"….Yeah, I guess."

"We barely know each other, but there's nothing wrong with being the person you are. If you were really the cold person you act like sometimes, you wouldn't have tried to save the life of a random singer you didn't care about. You didn't have to look for my number. You didn't have to try to warn me. You could have let this happen to me. There's a part of you that I doubt a lot of people see and you shouldn't be ashamed of that part."

Aomine's heart pounded in his chest. There was a part of him that had a knee-jerk reaction, wanting to say that Kise's words were the most pretentious bullshit he'd ever heard in his life, and that he didn't know him. He couldn't say it though, for whatever reason. Maybe it was because he knew that Kise was in a pretty low place right now, where he was afraid everywhere he went, and probably felt alone and he didn't want to kick him when he was down. In any case, he didn't argue or object, but he didn't know what else to say, either.

It seemed strange for Kise to be unloading like this. It hadn't been that long ago when Kise was angry with him for withholding information. It felt like something else had changed in him. Maybe it was just another product of Kise's fear.

"Anyone else would have done what I did," Aomine said dismissively.

"That's not true. It's not true and you know it's not true. It had to be a certain kind of person. That's why it had to be you."

Was Kise so lonely that he was latching onto the first person who had no interest in treating him just simply as a pretty pop star? Or was this about something else? Kise had no reason to call him in the middle of the night if he couldn't sleep. They barely knew each other, Aomine didn't listen to his music, and they were completely different from each other. And yet, there seemed to be something laying within Kise's words, a feeling Aomine couldn't describe that caused something in his chest to ache.

"Tell me more about you," Kise said, and Aomine could swear he heard him sniffling again, but maybe he imagined it. "How long have you been playing basketball?"

"My whole life," Aomine answered, watching as a three quarter moon slowly came into view in his window as the clouds shifted. "I've been running circles around people on street courts ever since I could hold a ball."

Kise laughed a bit though his voice sounded heavy. "I'm not surprised. I've never seen anyone play like that before in any sport. I can tell you love basketball a lot."

If Kise knew Aomine's past, he might feel differently about him, but Aomine let it go. It wasn't relevant. But basketball was important to Aomine and Kise had been able to tell just from watching him play two quarters in a fairly easy game.

"Nothing else like it," Aomine said.

"Do you dream a lot? Have you ever had a dream before like the one you had about me? That came true?"

"No. Never."

"Wow. Heh, wonder what made me so special."

"Beats me. Still trying to figure that one out. My friends have theories but…"

"Like what?"

Specifically, Aomine had been thinking of Kuroko telling him they had a connection but he wasn't sure he wanted to admit that to Kise. "…Silly superstitious stuff."

"You sound like you have interesting friends."

Aomine snorted. "That's a nice way of putting it."

He could hear Kise giggle a bit on the other end. "I bet you're just saying that."

"If you met them you'd agree with me."

"Don't be silly," Kise said with a slight laugh. He was starting to sound a little nervous, but Aomine chalked that up to the current situation. "Seeing anybody?"

"Eh? Nah."

Kise hummed. "Me neither."

"I'm pretty sure the world would know if you started dating somebody, given your fangirls."

"Probably…I have some of the sweetest fans, they're so passionate but…I'd like to live my life, you know?"

Aomine honestly had no idea what Kise was getting at, if anything, but maybe he was just venting about the struggles of living a life in the spotlight. It wasn't quite the same for Aomine because even though he had a lot of eyes on him, it was in a much different way.

"That's not too much to ask," he said.

"Depends on who you ask," Kise said with a half-hearted laugh. "Ah….I guess I should try to sleep. I'm sorry I bothered you."

"It's okay. Get some shut eye."

"Can…can I call you if something happens?"

Aomine still couldn't believe just how much Kise trusted him. In fact, it almost seemed as though he couldn't trust anyone else the same way he trusted Aomine, but why? Aomine hadn't even done anything except warn him of something he already knew and tell him his dream. He hadn't even told Kise that he and his friends were going to the show that Hayashi would be attending, to Momoi's chagrin. But it was safer that Kise didn't know, and even so, Kise trusted him anyway.

"….Yeah," he said. The correct response should have been that Kise should call the police if something happens instead of him, but right now what Kise was looking for safety in someone he trusted. Was Aomine really willing to be that person? Apparently he was.

"Goodnight, Aominecchi."

"Goodnight, Kise."

Citrine. Neither Aomine nor his friends had been here before so they weren't sure what to expect beyond being a popular club in town for rising artists. Momoi and Kagami insisted they get there super early so they would be able to get a good position inside the club since it was a standing show, so they did just that and ended up spending a few hours outside in a growing line of excited fangirls, waiting for the doors to open.

It was surreal for Aomine when they were waiting outside next to the alley from his dream, which wasn't far from the entrance to the building. Sure, there were probably a thousand alleys just like it in Tokyo, but it was the right width and he could even spot the exact place on the wall from his dream, detecting it by the same scratches and markings from weathering that he'd seen in his slumber.

"This is the right place," he muttered, staring at that wall.

Momoi blinked at him. "You can tell?"

"Yeah. It happens right here."

Kuroko looked down the alley with curious eyes, his hand being held by a slightly anxious Kagami. "There is a back door further down by the dumpster."

"Yeah, I see it," Aomine said. Hayashi probably would find a way backstage, grab Kise, and bring him outside.

He couldn't be sure if Hayashi planned on killing Kise or not. Given the type of things he'd been saying to Kise, it was possible he had something else in mind that was just as vile, if not worse. Either way, it didn't matter. He had to be stopped, and if some cops couldn't figure this out, then that's what Aomine and his friends were here for, weren't they?

Kuroko looked up at Kagami, frowning a bit. "You can relax, Kagami-kun. If we stick together, we'll be fine."

Kagami blushed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck as he squeezed Kuroko's hand. "Yeah, I know..."

"It'll be okay," Kuroko said calmly. He gently tugged Kagami's face down to his height and kissed his cheek. Kagami blushed instantly, still clutching Kuroko's hand as he looked away afterwards.

Momoi looked up at Aomine. "Did you ever tell him we were coming?"

Aomine's eyes were scanning the long line of fans, looking for a slender figure shorter than him in a black hood. "No."

"Dai-chan…"

"It's safer this way," he insisted. The moment the words left his lips, he spotted Hayashi in line a few meters back from them. He looked ahead again, a stern look forming on his face. "He's behind us."

All three of them looked back, but Momoi and Kagami were almost too obvious and Aomine had to resist the urge to scold them.

"He seems tense," Kuroko said, turning his gaze back to the front. "I believe he came here with a plan."

Aomine shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, he probably did. Keep your eye on him, Tetsu."

"Of course, Aomine-kun."

The doors to the club opened and the line started to shuffle forward.

"It's show time, guys," Momoi said.

Aomine snorted. "Literally."


	8. Safety's Arms

Kise's opening act for his show was some other rising pop singer that Aomine had never heard of before and didn't care about. He was too busy trying keep an eye on Hayashi, which was proving to be fairly challenging. Hayashi was of fairly average height and wearing dark clothing so he blended into the crowd easily. Aomine kept Kuroko close, relying on his observational skills to track Hayashi but in a crowd like this, even Kuroko had difficulties.

Aomine was getting frustrated. Kuroko, Momoi, Kagami, and himself were all trying, but Hayashi was moving around. He was managing to do so in such a way that people didn't pay too much attention to him because he still blended in just enough. Kagami and Aomine had previously insisted that they all stick together, but now Aomine was having his doubts about how effective that could be. Hayashi could slip out of his grasp at any time and he definitely wasn't going to send any of his friends after him. Besides, Aomine was still fairly observant himself.

In addition to these frustrations, it was getting harder to hear Kuroko over the crowd. Kagami somehow still managed to hear everything he said, but the confusion just added to Aomine's frustration. His original plan was to alert security of Hayashi acting suspiciously, but he was doubting that was going to pan out. By this point, the dream was out of his mind. It was just about getting to Hayashi and stopping him before he got to Kise.

The opening act's set ended and everything settled during the break before Kise's upcoming set. The band and singer were clearing off the stage as the crowd began to chatter amongst themselves.

The break went on for a little while and Aomine figured it would be relatively easy to keep an eye on Hayashi until Kise's set started. He was wrong.

"Where did he go?" Kagami asked, looking around.

Kuroko looked nervous. "I'm not sure."

That wasn't exactly a satisfactory answer as far as Aomine was concerned. His eyes searched the crowd but he couldn't see him either. "What do you mean 'not sure'?" Aomine demanded.

"I'm afraid I've lost him," Kuroko said regretfully.

Aomine gritted his teeth. There didn't seem to be any frantic movement near the stage, but where was he?

"Lost him?" Momoi said, looking around frantically. "Kise-san's set is starting soon."

They'd previously assumed that Hayashi would attack between sets in Kise's show or after the show. What if they were wrong and he didn't? What if he had already somehow slipped backstage?

Aomine felt something coiling inside of him and he could do little more than act on it. Without a word to his friends, he dashed off towards the exit, weaving his way through an impatient crowd who were muttering that Kise was taking too long to get on stage.

"Dai-chan!" Momoi cried after him, but he wasn't turning back now.

Aomine made his way to the exit as fast as he could, which wasn't exactly easy in a big and tightly packed crowd but goddammit if he ever needed his speed away from the basketball court it was right now. An employee at the door tried to reach out to him, something about needing his ticket if he were to come back in, but he disregarded them completely.

Outside, his dream unfurled. He heard the exact cries and words he'd been hearing repeatedly in his sleep for weeks and slowed his pace to a quiet but quick walk so he could move undetected.

He heard Hayashi: "I'm after something a little more complicated than money."

Kise whimpers filled his ears as he asked, "W-what do you want?"

"I-I've been telling you! Over and over, I've been telling you and you haven't listened to me. How do you expect this to work if you don't listen to me?!"

"Please, put the knife away, let's just talk about this. Don't do something you'll regret."

"See, you're only saying that now. I really want to believe you, but you ruined it. You don't even understand what you've done!"

Kise's whimpers got louder. "It doesn't have to be like this, please don't do this, please put the knife away."

"Shut up! You've said enough already. What happens now is up to me."

Aomine turned the corner into the alley and saw the all-too-familiar sight he'd seen over and over and had been struggling to prevent. Hayashi had Kise shoved against the wall, a knife held to his throat and he'd already broken skin, resulting in a shallow but still intimidating cut across his neck.

Now Aomine himself was slowly approaching Hayashi from behind, his gaze dark, also just as he'd dreamed. Kise saw him in the shadows and shook, his eyes wide with fear.

"W-What are you doing here?"

Hayashi turned around slowly, knife in hand. His eyes went wide at the sight of Aomine and he held up the knife, threatening him next. "Who the hell are you?"

Aomine continued to move to him, not showing any signs of fear despite being unarmed. His expression continued to remain dark as he came within arm's length of Hayashi.

"Aominecchi, get out of here!" Kise cried, remaining pressed up against the wall by his own fear. He wasn't afraid of Aomine as Aomine had feared. Instead, Kise was afraid for him.

Aomine's silence was enough to set Hayashi off. The stalker launched his arm forth towards him but Aomine's arm was quicker, managing to grab Hayashi's wrist before the knife could slice right into his chest. Hayashi gasped and Aomine moved quickly again, yanking the knife from his grasp, then launching a kick right into his chest, successfully knocking him down.

Hayashi groaned as Aomine turned him face down then pressed his foot between his shoulder blades, still holding his knife.

"Don't fucking move," he growled.

Kise watched in shock, staring down at Hayashi and back up at Aomine like his mind was still trying to piece together what just happened.

Right then, Momoi came around the corner followed closely by Kagami and Kuroko.

"Oh my god. Dai-chan!"

Kagami took in the sight before him and then turned his gaze over to Kise. "Are you okay?"

Kise nodded, still looking shocked. "I'm fine. He snuck backstage and pulled me out here before I could call anyone. Aominecchi….he came just in time."

Of course. Aomine kept Hayashi under his shoe, still holding his knife and not taking his eyes off him. "Someone call the damn cops."

Kuroko had already pulled out his phone. "I'm on it, Aomine-kun."

Kagami turned, rushing off. "I'll get security."

Pinned to the ground, Hayashi groaned. Aomine had expected him to struggle more, but he wasn't. Maybe Aomine had hit him harder than he'd thought, not that he'd have any regret about doing so.

Momoi walked over, glaring down at him to the point where she was practically fuming. She kicked right into his side, causing him to groan even louder. "Creep! I hope they put you away."

A few moments later, Kagami came rushing back around the corner with members of security.

"The hell happened here?" one of the staff asked.

Kise moved from the wall, though he was still shaking. "That man snuck backstage and came after me!" he said, pointing down to Hayashi. "He pulled me right out here and if it wasn't for him—", he pointed to Aomine, "—I wouldn't be standing here right now."

The security team glanced at Aomine suspiciously, probably because he had the knife, but they took Kise's word nonetheless.

"We'll be taking it from here. And that knife if you don't mind."

Aomine stepped off Hayashi and handed a knife over to one of the guards without any hesitation, glancing over at Kise as two other guards approached Hayashi, cuffing him.

"The police are on their way," Kuroko said, putting his phone in his pocket.

The guards lifted Hayashi from the ground. "We'll have a special gift for them when they arrive."

Hayashi kept his gaze on the ground, not acknowledging those around him as the guards carried him away from Kise so he could be easily delivered to the police when they showed up. One more guard remained behind, walking over to Kise and grabbing his arm. "Let's get you back inside so we can get ready for your show."

Kise jerked his arm away, glaring at the guard angrily. "What is wrong with you? I just had a knife to my throat! Do you not see the cut on my neck? I love my fans but you can't be serious! There's no way I'm putting that show on right now!"

The guard fell quiet. Aomine and his friends watched closely as the blond started trembling again, his eyes watering. For a moment the air was tense as Kise tried to pull himself together, but soon his face fell into his hands.

"I can't put that show on after this. I can't."

Aomine walked over to him, placing gentle hands on his shoulders. "He's gone. He can't hurt you anymore. No more text messages, no more voicemails, no more trying to meet you at your apartment. He won't reach you anymore. He tried to tear you away from something you love to do but you are stronger than that. You're shaken? Then be shaken, but if you go back inside and walk right up to that stage and put on the great show you planned, then you will have shown him that you are stronger and he has no control over you."

Kise lifted his face from his hands, looking at Aomine in shock, his face wet and puffy.

A short woman came speeding from around the corner. Kise's manager. She rushed over to where Kise and Aomine were standing, looking concerned. "I just heard what happened. Say the word and I'll cancel the show."

All eyes were on Kise as he looked at his manager, to Aomine, then back to his manager.

"No," he said firmly. "Please tell everyone I'll be on stage in a few minutes."

"Are you sure?" his manager asked.

"Yes. Please."

She nodded and turned back around, rushing off again to head back inside.

"Does anyone have a bandage?" Kise whined.

Momoi perked up, moving closer with her purse as Aomine took a step back. "I do!" She dug in her purse for some tissues first, gently cleaning the bit of blood that had dribbled down Kise's neck before pulling a bandage out and placing it across the cut with gentle hands.

"Thank you," Kise said with a small smile. He turned his gaze to Aomine. "I want you to come on stage with me."

Aomine blinked. "What? I don't dance or sing, are you kidding? No way!"

Kise giggled. "You don't have to do anything like that. I just…want you up there. Please? Just this one time."

Aomine pouted at the pleading look that Kise was giving him. It didn't help when Momoi nudged his side with her elbow, giving him a knowing look. She was going to hear about that later.

"Bring your friends. They helped too. You guys will have the best seats in the house," Kise said.

Before Aomine could answer again, Momoi gasped, her face lighting up. "Come on, Dai-chan! It'll be fun!" She turned back to Kagami and Kuroko. "Right guys?"

Kagami shyly rubbed the back of his neck. "Sure, sounds good to me." He looked down at Kuroko, who was even smiling a little, nodding in approval.

Kise smiled. "Then it's settled. Follow me." He turned and headed towards the back door, throwing a slight grin back at Aomine.

Aomine shook his head, groaning. "What an idiot," he said, following with everyone else behind him. In spite of himself though, he felt himself smiling a little.

During the show, Aomine stood with his friends at the far side of the stage, enjoying the show together as Kise gave an enthusiastic performance. Despite still being shaken, he was still able to channel his energy well enough to give a great performance that his audience loved.

Throughout the performance, Aomine caught Kise looking back at him every now and then and he wasn't sure if Kise was gauging his reaction to his music, checking to see if he was still there, or something else. Nonetheless, each time Kise looked back at him, Aomine sent him a small nod, which earned him a few of Kise's bright and charming smiles.

Aomine might have been tapping his foot to the beat of the music, and maybe perhaps enjoyed hearing Kise's sing just a little bit, and just maybe he was thinking about buying Kise's upcoming album but….Kise didn't have to know that.

The show went well and Kise's crowd loved him. He made sure to thank them all for their support, asking them to buy his coming album, and that he'd be performing again in the area very soon. Additionally, he informed the crowd that he wouldn't be doing any signings today due to "extraordinary circumstances" but he was still working on meet & greets with fans real soon. It was pretty clear that today was just not the right day to meet with fans, a sentiment that Aomine definitely agreed with.

After the show, Kise stepped backstage with Aomine and his friends, requesting to talk to Aomine alone. Momoi, Kuroko, and Kagami all seemed to understand and told Aomine they would be waiting for him outside. Kise had to talk his security into letting him talk to Aomine alone, but in the end he was dragging Aomine back with him into his dressing room.

Kise shut the door behind them, exchanging glances with Aomine. The blond's expression was soft, maybe even a little tired.

"You saved my life," he whispered.

Aomine looked down, at a loss for a response. "I…"

Kise approached him again, taking both of Aomine's strong hands into his own. "I don't know how this happened, all I know is that you saved me and you didn't even hesitate. I…I don't know what to say."

Aomine, for all of the swiftness and steadiness he'd displayed earlier when he'd confronted Hayashi, felt his hands tremble within Kise's. The truth was every time he thought about his dream and about the possibility of something happening to Kise as a result, it felt like a hole in him that he'd never be able to fill. A void he'd have to carry and live with for the rest of his life. The more he got to know Kise as Kise insisted on pushing himself towards Aomine over and over, the more Aomine's fears loomed over him. This was about much more than saving a life that he had the power to save. It was about saving a life he was afraid to lose.

He couldn't even explain why that was the case. There was no rhyme or reason for it. He and Kise barely knew each other, but there had been something between them, something beyond the comprehension of both of them, since before they even met. Each time they interacted it only grew. Kuroko was right, they did have some kind of connection, something neither of them could fully grasp.

It was kind of terrifying to think about it. Aomine wasn't exactly the kind of person who looked up at the stars and wondered about what kind of powers governed the lives of human beings but with Kise there was something powerful that he simply couldn't ignore.

"Kise…do you remember when you were at my apartment and you asked me if we would see each other again when this was over?"

"Yeah?" Kise asked, hope in his voice.

There was definitely something between them, and call Aomine crazy, but he would swear that Kise felt it too.

Aomine looked down for a moment, his nervous hands still within Kise's, but he tightened his grasp. Kise had been right before: he should embrace who he was, and when he had something so grand staring him right in the face he knew that if he walked away from this moment without doing so that he would regret it.

He leaned in, pressing his lips against Kise's in a surprisingly gentle kiss. He'd half expected Kise to push him away, but Kise responded instantly, wrapping his arms around him as he pushed back against his lips with a soft hum. Aomine held him close, deepening the kiss, allowing it to linger for a long, beautiful moment.

"I want to do more than see you again," he whispered as their lips parted.

Kise looked back at him, a faint blush on his cheeks. "Good. I've never wanted to be with anyone more," he whispered back before leaning in for another kiss.

Several minutes later, Aomine walked out of the back door of the club, his arm around Kise, and both of them were grinning. Momoi, Kuroko, and Kagami had been waiting for Aomine, but they weren't expecting him to bring a special guest.

Momoi blinked. "Dai-chan, are you two…?"

Aomine smirked. "I'll let you guess."

Everyone exchange glances and Kise couldn't help but giggle a little.

"Why don't we get something to eat?" Kuroko suggested. "Kise-kun can come too."

Kagami nodded, though he looked concerned and shifted his glance to Kise. "Sure, but aren't you worried about being followed by fans?"

Kise smiled. "I have a feeling I'll be safe with you guys."

Chuckling, Aomine led the way out of the alley, pulling Kise closer to him as everyone followed.

"I got a call yesterday," Kise said softly, his head leaned on Aomine's shoulder as he stroked the other male's bare chest with a gentle fingertip. He liked it like this, with the blankets up their hips so he could look at and touch Aomine as much as he wanted and feel his warmth.

The sunlight wasn't as bright as usual today because Aomine had actually bothered to close his curtains last night, but that little twinkle in Kise's eyes was bright enough. "Hm?"

Kise sighed. "He's not going to spend much time behind bars, but he'll have a restraining order when he gets out."

"Figures."

Kise smiled at him, meeting his sleepy gaze. "You're not worried, are you?"

"You're not?" Aomine asked, looking back at him.

Kise shook his head. "Not this time."

Aomine stretched an arm, wrapping it around his bare shoulders and holding him close. Of the two of them, maybe he was the one who was more concerned, but he'd rather have that then be blind sided. They had tried to keep Kise's story quiet from the public, but it had leaked out regardless due to his rising popularity, so Aomine was afraid of copy cats and he wasn't sure if Kise realized this. Nonetheless, he also knew that Kise's manager and the rest of his staff were taking steps to try to keep him safer in the future. It would only become more critical with the more popularity he gained, and lately he was gaining a lot of it very quickly.

But Aomine hadn't had any dreams since then, and it might not mean anything, but he was grateful he could sleep at night without worrying about what might happen to Kise. Especially when Kise was sleeping right in his arms.

"I have a confession to make," he said, voice still groggy.

Kise tilted his head, glancing up at him from his shoulder.

"There was another part of the dream I never told you about," Aomine said. "I did dream where I showed up. Not at first, but it happened after we started talking."

Kise blinked at him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was afraid that if I told you, you would expect me to come and then I wouldn't make it on time. I just…think it's weird that I kept struggling to change the dream, but it happened anyway."

"Maybe the choices you took, like choosing to reach out to me, shaped the dream. Shaped fate."

"Maybe. I don't know."

"Well…new rule," Kise said, shifting to lay on top of him, arms folded over his chest. "No more secrets. If this is what we are now…I don't want there to be any secrets between us."

Aomine smiled softly, stroking his hair as he gazed at him. "You're a sap."

"I'm serious! I'm not completely helpless, you know. We can work together if something happens."

"Nothing better happen."

"Aominecchi, come on. Promise me."

Aomine smiled. "Don't worry. I promise."

Kise beamed, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. "Thank you. Was that so hard?"

"Very. I'm hurting," he said with a smirk.

The blond shoved him against the mattress then rolled off of him. "You're such an idiot."

Aomine laughed, pulling him close again. "Don't be mad, babe. I got a secret I can tell you right now, actually."

"What?" The blond asked, looking at him skeptically.

Aomine smirked. "I really think we should have a repeat of last night."

"You're hopeless! That's not a secret," Kise said, laughing in spite of himself.

"But you didn't know until I said it."

Kise smirked. "If you kiss me good enough I'll think about it."

Aomine placed a hand on his cheek, leaning in. "I'll consider that a challenge," he said, proceeding to seal his promise with a deep kiss.


End file.
